Toronto CityPlace Puente de Luz Bridge | ?m | ?s | Concord Adex | Francisco Gazitua

Toronto’s Bridge of Light expected to reopen within the month

The Canadian Press

A pedestrian bridge connecting Toronto’s lakeshore condominiums to the downtown core that was shut down shortly after it opened last month is expected to reopen within the month.

The Bridge of Light was closed by city inspectors who found “a number of deficiencies,” including sharp edges on handrails and stainless steel ties that connect wire mesh to the sides of the bridge.

The bright yellow, 125-metre-long bridge stretches above the downtown railway corridor, and a three-metre-high wire mesh barrier prevents pedestrians from throwing items into the tracks.

The bridge was unveiled on Oct. 26, and was a long-awaited route for pedestrians and cyclists travelling to and from the CityPlace condo development and Front St. W.

Chilean sculptor Francisco Gazitua designed the bridge and his other public works can be seen within the highrise neighbourhood.

Helen Noehammer, Toronto’s director of development engineering, says there were no structural deficiencies with the bridge.

“While the existing deficiencies are minor in nature, they must be addressed since the safety of residents and visitors who will use the bridge is our priority,” Noehammer said in an email.
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Beautiful picture, I love the lights in CityPlace, especially at Luna. I understand the comparisons to St Jamestown, but I feel this area will be different. The architecture is relatively decent and varied. Yes they're all blue-ish condos, but the massings are different enough to be interesting. Hopefully in a few years time this area will have a more established identity and will be on it's way to proper integration. Call me overly optimistic, but this area could have turned out so much worse.
 
I spoke to councillor Vaughan with regards to the bridge last week. He said he was hoping for a re-opening at the end of the month. Apparently both the inspectors and developers left a lot to be desired when it came to the bureaucracy of it all.

The bridge looks great at night. It will be such a great addition to the neighbourhood once it's done.
 
RC8 said:
I spoke to councillor Vaughan with regards to the bridge last week. He said he was hoping for a re-opening at the end of the month. Apparently both the inspectors and developers left a lot to be desired when it came to the bureaucracy of it all.

The bridge looks great at night. It will be such a great addition to the neighbourhood once it's done.
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Excellent news, I can't wait to use this. Funny enough, there's been a security guard posted at the south end 24/7 stopping people from climbing the fence to use it. I would have if he wasn't there.
 
Last night there were a lot of people crossing it back and forth. I did not hear anything about it but I assume its open finally.
 
Bridge is open again.

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One thing that's a little interesting is that's it's much higher than the Spadina or Bathurst bridge.

I'm the biggest supporter of CityPlace, but even I have to say it's quite an ugly bridge.

It has no linear curve to it, the ramps on either end aren't even constant, they go up in sections. It's way too busy and the suicide fence feels totally ghetto and out of place.

I'm sorry, but apart from practicality, CityPlace totally messed this one up. And I love CityPlace.

:(
 
I disagree on all accounts except for the mesh. Height, ramps, and mesh were all GO's fault. The lack of stairs is regrettable and hopefully it will be fixed in the coming years.

If it weren't for the blatant discrimination against pedestrians from GO (demanding anti-litter barrier) this would have turned out incredibly well.

I prefer the ramps not being constant for both safety and comfort reasons, and I'm a big fan of the design and the colour. Something like the bridge at Humber Bay - as incredible as it is - would have been awful here. This area does not need more grey-scaled modernist stuff. The mellow yellow playful structure is frequently praised by my friends from out of town.
 
I hate looking at this bridge from a distance because it doesn't look level.... is that the case or is it just me? It just makes it look poorly placed but the bridge itself looks good.
 
Critique said:
I hate looking at this bridge from a distance because it doesn't look level.... is that the case or is it just me? It just makes it look poorly placed but the bridge itself looks good.
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Why does it have to be level??

I think the bridge is great except for the mesh as well missing stairs. Having it unlevel adds to its looks and would look better if it was curve horizontally.

Not sure if the deck will last long before issues shows up for it.

Still prefer to see something different in place of the mesh by the way of plexiglass, as it would be a wind breaker during the winter months as well a good photographing place. Taggers would make a mess of it.

It has to be high for double stack trains as well the electrification plan for the corridor.
 
Checked out the new bridge today. A great short cut to CityPlace. The ramps are much more narrower than the bridge part. I can see pedestrians becoming an obstacle course for some bikers who will treat this venue as a speedway. At least on a sidewalk, you don't have railings boxing you in on the ramps.
 
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