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Toronto-Astral Street Furniture Program

A big Jaws shark emerging from the sand with a seat in the mouth for the hunky lifeguard would be more fun. Maybe a Birth of Venus half shell version for the lady lifeguards.
 
The base pedals are prone to breaking (many of them on the Danforth no longer function), and it is absurd to have a mechanically-based garbage receptacle in the first place.
 
Not only do the pedals fail (or crack/break due to inferior materials used) but the garbage flaps often fail quickly too. I'd say at least 75% of the garbage receptacles in my neighbourhood have been replaced at least once, I only notice because I use them frequently as I have a dog to pick up for. Some don't even get replaced, they just disappear leaving no receptacle at all at corners that have very high foot traffic. This program from scratchitti on pretty much every bus shelter, "information" pillars to garbage receptacles is an absolute failure.
 
The thing that annoys me most about the pedals is that mechanical flaps aren't necessary -- the old containers, with flaps on hinges, worked just fine. It's an absurd design, and anyone with a lick of sense could see that putting a mechanism on such a heavily-used piece of public infrastructure was just asking for trouble.

(And don't get me started on how the damn things list to the front because they aren't properly supported, and pushing on the damn pedal causes the support to bend forward. Arrgh!!!!)
 
Tulse said:
The thing that annoys me most about the pedals is that mechanical flaps aren't necessary -- the old containers, with flaps on hinges, worked just fine. It's an absurd design, and anyone with a lick of sense could see that putting a mechanism on such a heavily-used piece of public infrastructure was just asking for trouble.

(And don't get me started on how the damn things list to the front because they aren't properly supported, and pushing on the damn pedal causes the support to bend forward. Arrgh!!!!)
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It does seem that most of these garbage cans are broken but I remember many people predicting that, right from the start, so it's no surprise. They look very cheaply made.
 
Tulse said:
The thing that annoys me most about the pedals is that mechanical flaps aren't necessary -- the old containers, with flaps on hinges, worked just fine. It's an absurd design, and anyone with a lick of sense could see that putting a mechanism on such a heavily-used piece of public infrastructure was just asking for trouble.

(And don't get me started on how the damn things list to the front because they aren't properly supported, and pushing on the damn pedal causes the support to bend forward. Arrgh!!!!)
Click to expand...

Personally I like the fact that when the pedal is working one does not have to touch the yukky flaps to open them. The old silver garbage bins were really quite unpleasant to open and the old bins were far bigger and uglier than the new ones. If one must have flaps (why?) then I think a mechanism to open them without touching them is good.
 
DSC said:
If one must have flaps (why?) then I think a mechanism to open them without touching them is good.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, but there are simpler ways of doing that with a handle, as many fast-food restaurants use. A foot pedal with a linkage to the flaps is far too complex a device, and will inevitably break. And then you're back to touching the flaps to open them.
 
I was walking home this afternoon along College St. and I caught something in the corner of my eye at McCaul St. so I stopped to take a better look. There's a bus shelter there in front of O"Grady's and two guys were working on the scratchitti'd glass. I stood and watched for a moment as they applied this cloudy substance then used fast rotating pads that buffed the scratchitti right out of the glass! Glass scratchitti on every bus shelter drives me NUTS so I was thrilled to see that there is an easy, fixable solution to repairing the glass quickly, cheaply and efficiently as opposed to replacing it. Who knew?!
 
My girlfriend once scratched the heck out of my expensive glass dining table by piling boxes on it. We found a jewellers putty that when applied to glass and buffed, removed shallow scratches.

Since this topic has been brought back to life, does anybody know what happened to all the street washrooms that Astral was supposed to install? As far as I know, they only put one on Queens Quay and Rees. I'm also wondering where all the unified newspaper boxes went. Some of them have been installed, but the intent was to clear the clutter of boxes off our streets but there are still so many downtown locations with newspaper boxes piled up. I'm not impressed with Astral and I hope the City speaks up about them fulfilling their contractual obligations.
 
Report form the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, April 3, 2012 Meeting:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-45963.pdf

Multi-publication boxes
A small number of multi-publication boxes/kiosks (5) have been installed for testing at select locations. In addition, 39 corrals which organize separate publication boxes have also been installed. In the case of the multi-publication boxes necessary design modifications have included improvements for the vendors such as better locking mechanisms and electronic readers, and better handles and ease of opening for consumers. The corrals have also been updated with new locking tube mechanisms in order for publications to attach their boxes securely. The TTC has determined that, through the termination of existing lease agreements, they will move newspaper vending boxes off their own property (69 stations) onto the public right-of-way, where possible. The Street Furniture Management Unit will now manage locations, enforcement and receive revenues. There will be a
phased 3-year deployment and staff will be working closely with Astral and the TTC to place the multi-publication boxes or corrals in an effort to reduce sidewalk clutter. At the same time, there is also significant pressure from other areas of the city for multi-publication boxes and corrals, which may delay immediate
implementation at TTC locations. (p. 12)
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Public Washroom
One fully accessible, automated public washroom has been constructed on Queen's Quay West at the foot of Rees Street and an additional one is planned for Woodbine Beach this year. Modifications to the unit have included the addition of emergency hatches, door opening protocols and a direct phone line to Astral's 24-hr Commitment to Quality service. Despite the enormous success of this unit, it has been difficult to find appropriate locations due to the size and weight of the 3 square metre unit and the availability of necessary water, sewer and power hookups. (p. 13)
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AoD
 
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A new type of bin is replacing the ugly Toys R Us plastic bins. I like these:

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They're made of metal and match the newspaper boxes and other street furniture design in this program. The round garbage bins never seemed to fit in, and now it looks like they'll be gone. The new bins don't have pedals or flaps to break. The holes are small enough that racoons won't fit in but I won't be surprised if a squirrel is found in there every now and then.
 

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These make so much more sense than the silly Rubbermaid bins which were always broken.
 
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