MetroMan
Senior Member
Trees will be really happy here. Finally somebody's realized that it's better to give trees the conditions to last for decades rather than have to remove and plant new ones every year.
Toronto Bloor Street Revitalization | ?m | ?s | Bloor-Yorkville BIA | architectsAlliance
Tewder
Senior Member
Hmmmm, interesting thought... applies to people too. Give us a decent and responsible network of public transit, planning for long term growth and usage, and watch the city and region thrive! Whether it's planting systems for trees or mass transit why does it take so long for city leaders to get it?
casaguy
Senior Member
That is really good to see. I keep thinking of the horrifying photo DT_geek took of the spindly twig sticking out of the concrete on Wellesley St a couple of years ago. It really summed up how the city failed at greenery. Would love to see it again to remind everyone of the city's embarrassing track record and how far (hopefully) they've finally come.
MetroMan
Senior Member
Hopefully they can do something like this on University which could use more robust greenery on its edges. Perhaps this will be a model to follow wherever there are trees planted in the city.
DSC
Superstar
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Apparently the City is planning to pave Bloor Street in the September-December period this year. If things were planned properly around here that would mean the reconstruction would be finished by then as paving should be the last thing done. We shall see!
androiduk
Senior Member
It should be noted that a few private landlords are using the same type of new sidewalk granite on their properties along Bloor St. The new steps of the Royal Bank at Yonge/Bloor and as pictured below, the small outdoor plaza at Bloor & Avenue Rd.
Towered
Superstar
Looks more European (ie "World Class" TM) already!
Spoonman
Active Member
I hope they reinstall that Tim Burton-inspired iron fencing behind Church of the Redeemer that was ripped out for the renovations.
Tewder
Senior Member
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
That original photo from Sept. 2007, and the poor tree today with half of the ashpault removed.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.
Last edited:
casaguy
Senior Member
LOL. Absolutely classic. Even funnier the second time around. Thank you for my morning laugh!
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the Saturday Globe TO:
Why Bloor Street’s revitalization is taking so long
The stretch of Bloor Street west of Yonge is down to one lane in each direction as new granite sidewalks are installed on the south side of the street.
Construction on city’s most glitzy strip is running one year late and over budget
John Lorinc
Special to Globe and Mail
Published on Saturday, Apr. 10, 2010 11:58AM EDT
Last updated on Saturday, Apr. 10, 2010 11:59AM EDT
As the revitalization of Bloor Street between Church Street and Avenue Road staggers into its fourth year, Toronto’s marquee retail stretch remains a cluttered maze of construction for businesses, upscale shoppers and condo owners. “It’s another example of the city not being able to manage a major project,†charges area councillor Kyle Rae, who calls the project “St. Clair, Part Two.â€
Ouch.
Yet comparisons to the melodrama over the construction of the midtown streetcar right-of-way between Yonge and Keele, which took more than five years and came in $41-million over budget, are unavoidable.
Conceived 12 years ago, the idea for turning Bloor into an elegant boulevard looked great on paper: widen the sidewalks, pave them in dark granite and line the street with shade trees and planters overflowing with flowers.
The Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area was willing to foot the bill because most (though not all) of its members felt the streetscape enhancements would drive new traffic into their stores and increase sales. Then came the logistical potholes.
Broadening the sidewalks by more than a metre meant lowering the roadbed to maintain proper drainage. If Bloor Street needed to be ripped up, the city figured it should replace aging water mains. The municipality also invited utilities such as Toronto Hydro and Bell Canada to work on their own sub-surface assets.
An increasingly complex project deteriorated as the city, the BIA and Toronto Hydro traded accusations over who was responsible for delays and screw-ups that have pushed back the completion date to late 2010 and driven the project price up by 20 per cent. Herewith, a tour of a morass of a makeover.
Cable Guys
Shortly after work commenced on the stretch east of Yonge in July, 2008, construction ground to a halt when crews discovered phone cables buried perilously close to the surface of the roadbed. Bell’s diagrams indicating the location of these utilities contained incorrect information, says Rohit Bansal, chief operating officer of Four Seasons Site Development, adding that “nobody anticipated†the problem. Bell crews had to be brought in to relocate the cables, delaying Phase One (Church to Yonge) by five weeks.
Crossed Wires
After the Bell mess was sorted out, construction was further set back by almost a year. The city’s contractors have been waiting for a year – and continue to wait – for Toronto Hydro to re-build more than a dozen transformer vaults situated between Church Street and Avenue Road.
Each vault is a subterranean concrete room beneath the sidewalk. They’re about three metres deep and contain high-voltage transformers designed to send power to nearby buildings. They had to be physically lowered as part of the reconstruction of the street. The reconstruction process began in September, 2008, and has yet to be completed.
Hydro officials informed the city that its crews would not work last summer because of its own policies about mitigating the risk of power interruptions. Kyle Rae says the utility was slow off the mark with this job, despite ample advance notice during almost a dozen years of pre-planning. “Although Toronto Hydro attended all the meetings,†says Mr. Rae, “they didn’t gear up.†Briar de Lange, the BIA’s general manager, also wonders how Hydro, though a city-owned agency, could be so out of step with the rest of the project. “We couldn’t figure it out. They march to their own drummer.â€
Hydro spokesperson Blair Peberdy rejects the accusations, saying that city project-management officials knew the utility’s crews don’t rebuild vaults in the summer months because the work involves cutting electricity supply at a time when air-conditioning in local buildings consumes a lot of power. Gord MacMillan, the city official overseeing the project, says the amount of work required to rebuild the vaults “wasn’t fully envisioned. We’ve run into all sorts of anomalies.â€
Mr. Rae, however, doesn’t buy these explanations, pointing out that there were “long periods†when the city contractors had vacated the site but “there were no Hydro crews anywhere to be seen.â€
Mixed-up Measurements
While Toronto Hydro crews were lowering the vaults over the past year, Four Seasons and its subcontractors had to fabricate and install the roofs for each one, which are integrated into the sidewalk for consistency of appearance. The roofs consist of steel beams and grates, as well as removable concrete-and-granite panels.
Bluescape partner Louis Hack, who is monitoring the project on behalf of the BIA, says that the steel components ordered for the vault roofs didn’t meet Toronto Hydro’s specifications and were rejected last month. He estimates the mistake cost about $300,000 to $400,000 in wasted material. Adds the BIA’s Ms. de Lange: “We couldn’t get a straight answer where this error occurred.â€
The Bottom Line
Bloor at present is a half-finished mess. The revamp is largely complete east of Yonge, but the stretch over to Avenue Road is a tangle of sidewalk detours, heavy equipment and exposed tracts of gravel. As for the price tag for the whole show, it’s likely risen with each delay. “At this point in time, it’s very difficult to anticipate what the final cost of this project will be,†says Mr. Bansal of Four Seasons, the general contractor. Ms. de Lange says the firm has already come back to the city asking for top-ups, although she adds the streetscape component has remained on budget so far.
As initially conceived, Toronto was to pay for new water mains under Bloor and also front the $20-million for the streetscape enhancements (granite boulevard, trees, lighting, public art, etc.), with the BIA reimbursing the city after the fact. The BIA says it has been told by Mr. Rae and city officials that it won’t be on the hook for over-runs arising from the ongoing delays relating to the road reconstruction. “As far as we’re concerned,†says Ms. de Lange, “that will be between the city and Toronto Hydro to work out.â€
But Mr. MacMillan says the project budget has swollen by $4-million so far and could still rise further if there are more buried surprises west of Bay. As for who pays for the overruns, he says, “those delays ae the BIA’s cost.â€
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-is-taking-so-long/article1530201/?cmpid=rss1
AoD
Why Bloor Street’s revitalization is taking so long
The stretch of Bloor Street west of Yonge is down to one lane in each direction as new granite sidewalks are installed on the south side of the street.
Construction on city’s most glitzy strip is running one year late and over budget
John Lorinc
Special to Globe and Mail
Published on Saturday, Apr. 10, 2010 11:58AM EDT
Last updated on Saturday, Apr. 10, 2010 11:59AM EDT
As the revitalization of Bloor Street between Church Street and Avenue Road staggers into its fourth year, Toronto’s marquee retail stretch remains a cluttered maze of construction for businesses, upscale shoppers and condo owners. “It’s another example of the city not being able to manage a major project,†charges area councillor Kyle Rae, who calls the project “St. Clair, Part Two.â€
Ouch.
Yet comparisons to the melodrama over the construction of the midtown streetcar right-of-way between Yonge and Keele, which took more than five years and came in $41-million over budget, are unavoidable.
Conceived 12 years ago, the idea for turning Bloor into an elegant boulevard looked great on paper: widen the sidewalks, pave them in dark granite and line the street with shade trees and planters overflowing with flowers.
The Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area was willing to foot the bill because most (though not all) of its members felt the streetscape enhancements would drive new traffic into their stores and increase sales. Then came the logistical potholes.
Broadening the sidewalks by more than a metre meant lowering the roadbed to maintain proper drainage. If Bloor Street needed to be ripped up, the city figured it should replace aging water mains. The municipality also invited utilities such as Toronto Hydro and Bell Canada to work on their own sub-surface assets.
An increasingly complex project deteriorated as the city, the BIA and Toronto Hydro traded accusations over who was responsible for delays and screw-ups that have pushed back the completion date to late 2010 and driven the project price up by 20 per cent. Herewith, a tour of a morass of a makeover.
Cable Guys
Shortly after work commenced on the stretch east of Yonge in July, 2008, construction ground to a halt when crews discovered phone cables buried perilously close to the surface of the roadbed. Bell’s diagrams indicating the location of these utilities contained incorrect information, says Rohit Bansal, chief operating officer of Four Seasons Site Development, adding that “nobody anticipated†the problem. Bell crews had to be brought in to relocate the cables, delaying Phase One (Church to Yonge) by five weeks.
Crossed Wires
After the Bell mess was sorted out, construction was further set back by almost a year. The city’s contractors have been waiting for a year – and continue to wait – for Toronto Hydro to re-build more than a dozen transformer vaults situated between Church Street and Avenue Road.
Each vault is a subterranean concrete room beneath the sidewalk. They’re about three metres deep and contain high-voltage transformers designed to send power to nearby buildings. They had to be physically lowered as part of the reconstruction of the street. The reconstruction process began in September, 2008, and has yet to be completed.
Hydro officials informed the city that its crews would not work last summer because of its own policies about mitigating the risk of power interruptions. Kyle Rae says the utility was slow off the mark with this job, despite ample advance notice during almost a dozen years of pre-planning. “Although Toronto Hydro attended all the meetings,†says Mr. Rae, “they didn’t gear up.†Briar de Lange, the BIA’s general manager, also wonders how Hydro, though a city-owned agency, could be so out of step with the rest of the project. “We couldn’t figure it out. They march to their own drummer.â€
Hydro spokesperson Blair Peberdy rejects the accusations, saying that city project-management officials knew the utility’s crews don’t rebuild vaults in the summer months because the work involves cutting electricity supply at a time when air-conditioning in local buildings consumes a lot of power. Gord MacMillan, the city official overseeing the project, says the amount of work required to rebuild the vaults “wasn’t fully envisioned. We’ve run into all sorts of anomalies.â€
Mr. Rae, however, doesn’t buy these explanations, pointing out that there were “long periods†when the city contractors had vacated the site but “there were no Hydro crews anywhere to be seen.â€
Mixed-up Measurements
While Toronto Hydro crews were lowering the vaults over the past year, Four Seasons and its subcontractors had to fabricate and install the roofs for each one, which are integrated into the sidewalk for consistency of appearance. The roofs consist of steel beams and grates, as well as removable concrete-and-granite panels.
Bluescape partner Louis Hack, who is monitoring the project on behalf of the BIA, says that the steel components ordered for the vault roofs didn’t meet Toronto Hydro’s specifications and were rejected last month. He estimates the mistake cost about $300,000 to $400,000 in wasted material. Adds the BIA’s Ms. de Lange: “We couldn’t get a straight answer where this error occurred.â€
The Bottom Line
Bloor at present is a half-finished mess. The revamp is largely complete east of Yonge, but the stretch over to Avenue Road is a tangle of sidewalk detours, heavy equipment and exposed tracts of gravel. As for the price tag for the whole show, it’s likely risen with each delay. “At this point in time, it’s very difficult to anticipate what the final cost of this project will be,†says Mr. Bansal of Four Seasons, the general contractor. Ms. de Lange says the firm has already come back to the city asking for top-ups, although she adds the streetscape component has remained on budget so far.
As initially conceived, Toronto was to pay for new water mains under Bloor and also front the $20-million for the streetscape enhancements (granite boulevard, trees, lighting, public art, etc.), with the BIA reimbursing the city after the fact. The BIA says it has been told by Mr. Rae and city officials that it won’t be on the hook for over-runs arising from the ongoing delays relating to the road reconstruction. “As far as we’re concerned,†says Ms. de Lange, “that will be between the city and Toronto Hydro to work out.â€
But Mr. MacMillan says the project budget has swollen by $4-million so far and could still rise further if there are more buried surprises west of Bay. As for who pays for the overruns, he says, “those delays ae the BIA’s cost.â€
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-is-taking-so-long/article1530201/?cmpid=rss1
AoD
CML
Active Member
That is absolutely depressing.
I can't imagine the city will be eager to undertake many more of these "revitalizations" on major city streets...
I can't imagine the city will be eager to undertake many more of these "revitalizations" on major city streets...
Observer Walt
Senior Member
It is indeed depressing. There is one thing that Toronto absolutely cannot seem to do, namely, coordinate jobs that involve two or three agencies. We saw it on St. Clair, where it was basically shrugged off as a "learning experience", and again on Bloor. It does not bode well for any of the Transit City projects, or, I suspect, the Lower Don Lands. There seems to be huge reluctance at City Hall to put one or two capable people in charge, although some will say, they don't have capable people.
jozl
Active Member
Gee, colour me surprised. It's clear that we have a dysfunctional bureaucracy called "CITY HALL". I still have Toronto Hydro newsletters from the early 90's that explain how all of the hydro wires downtown were going to be buried. Then, it was claimed that it would be too expensive and only the hydro lines on main streets would be buried. Then, as it became obvious that that wasn't happening they (Toronto Hydro) just stopped reporting on it. The whole multi million dollar plan just sort of disappeared and TH went on erecting ugly poles and wires just as they've always done. They are accountable to no one but themselves and city hall can't coordinate city council let alone another agency. I hope we get a mayor who can take a serious baseball bat to everything and reinvent our municipal government. What an incompetent bunch of morons!