Toronto Berczy Park Revitalization | ?m | ?s

AlvinofDiaspar said:
Sarcasm aside - you are picking up the government lingo - not everything has to be an investment. How about when we spend tax dollars in shared spaces that are actually nice, people come out to use them, and this creates a sense of community, safety and civic pride. Better?

AoD
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If I'm getting you, you're distinguishing between an 'investment' and 'spending.' If so, that's a split hair I'm just not compelled to take a stand on.
 
The crystal ball forecast looking ideal for the Wednesday evening event. Best day of the week. Around 24 degrees, pleasant humidity, a south-southwest breeze but it shouldn't be overly windy. And probably just a veil of high cloud and no rain.

Taken this evening...

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ponyboy said:
I realize that the sanitation workers want to be able to roll the bins to the curb to empty them. How about building a stylish wooden enclosure that the bins can be easily rolled into and out of. The opening to the bins will line up with an opening in the enclosure. Some homeowners have nice enclosures for their bins. I didn't find precisely what I have in mind, but some variation of one of these (below), with some modifications would work for these high visibility spaces. Perhaps they already plan to do something like this.

View attachment 112927 View attachment 112928 View attachment 112929 View attachment 112930
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The more realistic option for the City is to put cheaper low maintenance wraps on those recycle & garbage bins. The City already use wraps and StreetArt on some of their utility boxes
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=74c2590dd3412410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD
20120619_C2270_PHOTO_EN_15273.jpg

http://www.newswire.ca/news-release...of-warden-and-ellesmere-avenue-510395161.html

For these big ugly City garbage & recycling bins, just use a wrap pattern that matches the wood pattern of the benches or interlock bricks or greenery. It'll still be fully functional as before. Talk to the local park group to pressure the local councillor to get it done with City sanitation department.
 
From the Star:
The two-tiered fountain, the park's centrepiece, features 28 sculptures, 27 of dogs and one of a cat. The dogs spray water from their mouths. And a golden bone sits on top of the fountain.

The paw of one dog is already cracked, while the hindquarters of another dog is chipped.

Pearen said the skateboarders have been seen on their boards sliding over benches, the granite plaza, the edge of the fountain itself and its sculptures.

Pearen said it is up to the city to protect the park, situated in a triangle of land between Wellington, Front and Scott streets across from St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Its grand reopening is slated for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Members of the group say they have confronted individual skateboarders but arguments ensued and the activity continues. He said the city has made an effort to protect the park by putting up signs that indicate no skateboarding is allowed
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The city says it is aware of the damage to the statues at Berczy Park.

"The damage was caused by a hard collision with the sculpture, but staff are unsure as to what actually hit the fountain," said Matthew Cutler, a spokesperson for the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation department, in a press release.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/berczy-park-damage-done-1.4180224

Like I have said, skateboarders can be a pest - they belong to public space, but not everywhere. And the anemic response of putting up a sign with the expectation to conform is laughable.

AoD
 
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I think the ideal solution is simply to make more of the public space skateboarding-unfriendly.

The skateboarders have their parks, there should be no need to damage city property for the sake of a cheap thrill.

Steps, furniture, bollards and other obstacles should block skateboarders from having any sort of straight path towards gaining momentum, and buttons/railings on benches and other low, flat surfaces should prevent them from being able to do grinds and other tricks on damageable property.

In the meantime, a few strategically placed planters should do the trick around the fountain, which is the most important element and the one most expensive to repair.
 
We need carrot, stick and deterrence by design. Skateboarding is a legitimate use that is probably not accommodated enough in parks - but that's not an excuse for a carte blanche, especially on spaces and fixtures that are clearly NOT designed for it.

AoD
 
I think deterrence needs to be passive in design- built into the design itself. Weaker and more easily damaged fixtures should be protected by fixtures that can handle the damage. For instance if the entire fountain was on a wide, slightly raised, one-step pedestal, it would literally prevent skateboarders from doing tricks on it, because it's considerably difficult to get past that one step. Alternatively, if tables and chairs were placed around the fountain and actively occupied, it will also be difficult to get to the fountain.

Places like the Waterfront Wavedecks avoid significant skateboarding damage- because it's hard to skateboard on them.

Active deterrence like law enforcement and neighbourhood watches are useful, but not useful enough in an age where public responsibility supersedes personal responsibility. When public law enforcement is scorned, do you think skateboarders won't return after the police are gone?
 
jje1000 said:
I think deterrence needs to be passive in design- built into the design itself. Weaker and more easily damaged fixtures should be protected by fixtures that can handle the damage. For instance if the entire fountain was on a wide, slightly raised, one-step pedestal, it would literally prevent skateboarders from doing tricks on it, because it's considerably difficult to get past that one step. Alternatively, if tables and chairs were placed around the fountain and actively occupied, it will also be difficult to get to the fountain.

Places like the Waterfront Wavedecks avoid significant skateboarding damage- because it's hard to skateboard on them.

Active deterrence like law enforcement and neighbourhood watches are useful, but not useful enough in an age where public responsibility supersedes personal responsibility. When public law enforcement is scorned, do you think skateboarders won't return after the police are gone?
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Except in this case deterrence by design could very well translate into design by deterrence - immediacy, interactiability and openess is the very essence of the space - adding bollards and protection will detract from it. Even little metal trips on the rim of the fountain will break the smoothness. Choose your poison carefully.

AoD
 
I don't think it's too poisonous of a design choice- skateboarders rely on momentum for their tricks, making it difficult to gain that momentum or utilize surfaces for their tricks eliminates the raison d'être for their being there- the changes don't need to be as dramatic as raising things on plinths and putting railings everywhere.

For instance, paving studs like these can make it harder to skate around:

studs_anti-skater.jpg

http://www.pavingexpert.com/special.htm

As perhaps adding a rough-set cobblestone apron around the fountain itself.

Pedestrians have a different set of priorities and can meander around obstacles like bollards and planters, provided that they are placed properly. In any case, visual connectivity and immediacy is more important in those cases.
 
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Was anyone at the official opening? I stopped by earlier today, and they had some weird performance art piece that involved three people dressed as cows, who roamed around on the grass area, while a farmer occasionally walked around, and corralled one of them. At one point, he milked one of them, which is a visual I will never be able to erase from my brain.
 
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