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Toronto Metropolitan University (Ryerson) Campus Public Realm

Some day the remaining statues of the world will come down as we realize that people are not perfect. Down with the non-vegans, down with the conservatives, down with the nationalists, etc. What, that famous athlete played for Canada, down with that.

As we become more aware of how wrong the ways of the past are, I think we need to accept that was where we came from. We improved as a society, or at least we hope we did. Europeans piled on boats for the new world to create a place in their image and acted as if there was nobody here. That is the story of many Canadian great grandparents. It is so obviously wrong to us now that people would invade a world and decide it is theirs, but that was the way of the world.

We cite treaties that were signed but like many treaties between nations the reality is that the nation with the power holds the cards. You can be almost certain that in every situation they got a raw deal.

Not that one side was inherently better than another. Humanity, around the world, was tribal. Europeans as natives to Europe fought their neighbours, Native Americans fought Native Americans, and to the powerful went the spoils. It is so obvious to a lawful and just society that this isn't how it should be, but that is how it was. All humanity before is not inherently evil, just not evolved in their thinking.

We need to accept our story, tell it honestly, and find the way forward that treats people living today justly. We improve on this year to year. Women's rights, gay rights, minority rights, accessibility, etc. We get better, we must all do better.
 
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EnviroTO said:
Some day the remaining statues of the world will come down as we realize that people are not perfect. Down with the vegans, down with the conservatives, down with the nationalists, etc. What, that famous athlete played for Canada, down with that.

As we become more aware of how wrong the ways of the past are, I think we need to accept that was where we came from. We improved as a society, or at least we hope we did. Europeans piled on boats for the new world to create a place in their image and acted as if there was nobody here. That is the story of many Canadian great grandparents. It is so obviously wrong to us now that people would invade a world and decide it is theirs, but that was the way of the world.

We cite treaties that were signed but like many treaties between nations the reality is that the nation with the power holds the cards. You can be almost certain that in every situation they got a raw deal.

Not that one side was inherently better than another. Humanity, around the world, was tribal. Europeans as natives to Europe fought their neighbors, Native Americans fought Native Americans, and to the powerful went the spoils. It is so obvious to a lawful and just society that this isn't how it should be. But that is how it was. All humanity before is not inherently evil, just not evolved in their thinking.

We need to accept our story, tell it honestly, and find the way forward that treats people living today justly. We improve on this year to year. Women's rights, gay rights, minority rights, accessibility, etc. We get better, we must all do better.
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I have no real problem w/the demise of statuary, for the very reasons you cite. Though there is surely some utility in preserving better examples of the form.

But I do wish we would move from the symbolic to the substantive.

All that effort is injected into discussing the symbol but not the substance. Should Ryerson change its name? Meh, it could...........I have no real attachment to someone who I never knew, and who has been dead well more than a century....

But will that actually address issues w/excessive force by police? Will that address issues w/clean drinking water or the absence of on-reserve high school education?
Will that raise the minimum wage, or lower tuitions or provide year round road access to remote communities? Etc. etc.
I'm fine w/the symbolism, but I really feel it diverts attention from substantive fixes in areas of inequity or injustice.

People will invariably suggest that its possible to walk and chew gum at the same time...............but possible doesn't mean it will happen.
 
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It has been flying under the radar, but the University has been working on this for some time....

To quote President Lachemi -
The question of the statue was only one of many being considered by the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force, whose mandate includes consideration of the university’s name, responding to the legacy of Egerton Ryerson, and other elements of commemoration on campus. Their work is now more important than ever. I ask our community to respect their work and to engage with them as we should engage with all matters at our university - through dialogue, debate and the exchange of ideas.
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A look at finished Gould Street, animated by people, with the water feature turned on...........

It was orientation day when I was walking through.......yesterday, August 31st, 2021:

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I have to say, I've always liked this water feature..........but I think the colour of the water is moderately off-putting..........

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Benches along side Kerr Hall are well patronized:

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As was the patio for Balzac's

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Signage up, hyping the renaming process:

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They always drain the water feature for the first week of school so I always hated it for that reason. It's shut down whenever there are people around to actually see it.
 
innsertnamehere said:
They always drain the water feature for the first week of school so I always hated it for that reason. It's shut down whenever there are people around to actually see it.
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I don't know............I went to Ryerson...............daycamp when I was 10, and there was always water in it then!

Little people are people too! LOL

It was a nice place to wait for mom when camp was over for the day, or to read if I got there early..........before swimming, weights, or playing pong in the computer lab!
 
It was only ever filled during the summer semester. Maybe because pedestrians volumes were too high?

Might be a different situation now that the roads have been closed and redone.
 
I can't believe they pedestrianized Gould Street, repaved it with ornamental pavers and made other investments in the public realm, but they didn't replace the cheap and utilitarian looking street lights. It's just another reminder of the mediocrity of the public realm in Toronto and how we underperform in this regard.
 
junctionist said:
I can't believe they pedestrianized Gould Street, repaved it with ornamental pavers and made other investments in the public realm on campus, but they didn't replace the cheap and utilitarian looking street lights. It's just another reminder of the mediocrity of the public realm in Toronto and how we underperform in this regard.
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Here's a curiosity...........best I can tell w/o a light-study............they have replaced those lights......

In that there are new pedestrian lights installed that at first blush should provide more than adequate light.........

But they have not removed the old lights............

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Crudely, you can see the new fixture highlighted.

The old one, beside it..........still there.
 
Toronto Hydro loves their cobrahead lights. They're replacing more and more of the old acorn bulbs with cobraheads - I don't know who else actually buys them anymore as everywhere else goes to LED.

But since Toronto Hydro owns the lights and poles, I guess they have to be the ones to take them down.
 
I emailed Ryerson when this was under construction. They responded with something about it still technically being a street and then the need to keep those lights
 
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