Toronto Lower Don Lands Redevelopment | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto

Towered said:
Have those big tanks been disused for a long time? I remember there being tons of them in the 80's which I found fascinating as a kid. Wish we could keep one...
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Just take a ride to Finch West Station. You can see many there!
 
Edward Skira said:
Just take a ride to Finch West Station. You can see many there!
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Thanks! I just Google mapped that...I like the one with the knob on top of it.

Edit: Made a slight spelling correction.
 
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Depends how far down St. Clair one goes. It's decent for about 1-2km (if you're in a car). From a pedestrian POV, none of it is all the appealing. The sidewalk is concrete for starters, the landscaping is non-existent/awful, ugly lamp posts, etc. I generally avoid St. Clair altogether.
 
isaidso said:
Depends how far down St. Clair one goes. It's decent for about 1-2km (if you're in a car). From a pedestrian POV, none of it is all the appealing. The sidewalk is concrete for starters, the landscaping is non-existent/awful, ugly lamp posts, etc. I generally avoid St. Clair altogether.
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I would disagree. St. Clair West has ornamental street lights, street trees, public art atop the streetcar shelters, vibrant businesses, pedestrian traffic, a variety of architectural styles including some interesting landmark churches, apartments and office towers, and a consistent street wall. The variety of neighbourhoods is interesting. There's a lot to like.
 
junctionist said:
I would disagree. St. Clair West has ornamental street lights, street trees, public art atop the streetcar shelters, vibrant businesses, pedestrian traffic, a variety of architectural styles including some interesting landmark churches, apartments and office towers, and a consistent street wall. The variety of neighbourhoods is interesting. There's a lot to like.
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IMO St Clair is one of the nicest streets in Toronto
 
Few more pictures from today.
Starting to look like a rolling landscape.

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Waiting for the bridge to arrive.

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Northern Light said:
It has all the potential to be a great project.

But so did Bloor Street's initial facelift that saw more than 2/3 of the trees die.

Important to get the details right so the project can be what it should.

Worth saying here, I was one who advised against the way Bloor was being done at the planning stage..........

It failed.

I don't want to see that mistake repeated.

Great design on paper.

Needs material refinement.
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I don't think this could be really compared to Bloor St. The flora in the Portlands should have every reason to thrive, except for road side plantings as always. I'm not sure if the city or province did the planting at Trillium Park at Ontario Place but I would say most things are thriving there and it is essentially similar to how the Portlands will be albeit on a much much smaller scale.

I definitely echo your sentiment about non-native plants. Here's an idea, go 100% native plants. Why not? OK so maybe for the toughest of tough locations a non-native plant is fine, but when they're essentially trying to achieve biomimicry they should be 100% native plants, no questions asked.

As was mentioned, the lack of Serviceberry trees is questionable. They're native, flower and bud early (such an asset in our relatively short growing sesson), beautiful, great for wildlife, adaptable. They should be planted in abundance.

All that said, the project is amazing, most of the plants are indeed native and it's going to be a huge asset to the city and wildlife eitherway.
 
This discussion made me think about what if we implemented a user charge in the city for planting non-native species.

That way all condo developments would naturally just go for native species because they are cheaper. Nurseries would adjust over time to the new demand.
 
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WislaHD said:
This discussion made me think about what if we implemented a user charge in the city for planting non-invasive species.

That way all condo developments would naturally just go for native species because they are cheaper. Nurseries would adjust over time to the new demand.
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Hmmm. A "visa" and fees for non-native plants? Guess they'll have to get a "passport" first.
 
Copper1212 said:
I don't think this could be really compared to Bloor St. The flora in the Portlands should have every reason to thrive, except for road side plantings as always. I'm not sure if the city or province did the planting at Trillium Park at Ontario Place but I would say most things are thriving there and it is essentially similar to how the Portlands will be albeit on a much much smaller scale.

I definitely echo your sentiment about non-native plants. Here's an idea, go 100% native plants. Why not? OK so maybe for the toughest of tough locations a non-native plant is fine, but when they're essentially trying to achieve biomimicry they should be 100% native plants, no questions asked.

As was mentioned, the lack of Serviceberry trees is questionable. They're native, flower and bud early (such an asset in our relatively short growing sesson), beautiful, great for wildlife, adaptable. They should be planted in abundance.

All that said, the project is amazing, most of the plants are indeed native and it's going to be a huge asset to the city and wildlife eitherway.
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The comparison lies in not understanding the importance of habitat/planting conditions for certain species. Example, they have Witch Hazel, a native plant on their list. This plant thrives in shady conditions and does terribly in full sun.

There is no canopy at all in this area of the portlands right now. While there will be some, one day, planting a bunch of 10-15ft tall trees will not give you the requisite canopy on day one (or within 3 years either). The plant will cook!
 
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WislaHD said:
This discussion made me think about what if we implemented a user charge in the city for planting non-invasive species.

That way all condo developments would naturally just go for native species because they are cheaper. Nurseries would adjust over time to the new demand.
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The key is whether plant is invasive, as opposed to non-native. Obviously I would like to have as close to 100% native plants in natural areas or those yards/parks adjacent as possible; but I have little worry about a domesticated rose bush, an eggplant or a Japanese Maple escaping into nature.

On the other hand......Snowdrop is a garden plant escapee that runs wild on some ravine floors in Toronto

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There is a secondary concern mind you, which is where the plant is grown.

Our local nurseries grow many non-native plants; but lots are also imported.

One of the dangers in this is spreading pests or even invasives whose seeds may be in the soil w/your plant.

You could spread an insect or a fungus among other things to a new, previously uninfected area.

That's something we don't do a good job of controlling.
 
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