Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

ALEX BOZIKOVIC of the Globe and Mail has an opinion piece in todays G & M on the current very questionable decisions made around Ontario Place. Alex is usually an interesting read with insite worth considering. The article is titled: For Doug Ford, an audit of Ontario Place could be trouble.

The piece is not paywalled And you can find it on the electronic edition.

A short excerpt but read the full article for details:

“More bad news arrived last week for Ontario Premier Doug Ford: The province’s acting Auditor-General, Nick Stavropoulos, is running two fresh investigations about Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre.
Which is excellent news for the public, because Mr. Ford’s plans for those two sites – two beloved public places – stink.
Not of corruption. There’s no evidence of that so far. But the Premier’s efforts to reshuffle the science museum and the waterfront park involve $1-billion in questionable expenditures. This government is spending boatloads of public money on its own priorities with no real explanation.”
 
just east of the creek said:
"But the Premier’s efforts to reshuffle the science museum and the waterfront park involve $1-billion in questionable expenditures. This government is spending boatloads of public money on its own priorities with no real explanation.”
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...I mean, it makes sense from a narcissist point of view of wanting to move public property around like figurines on a Monopoly board. That is, because he feels he can. Just like that other historically noted narcissist who thought Greenland would make a fine 51'st State when he was President. The problem is that in reality it doesn't work that way.
 
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Northern Light said:
Bolded, it is neither.

Italics, there is no evidence to support such a conclusion, whatsoever.
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Yes, it is a very naive comment indeed. IO is about as independent as Metrolinx. That is not to say we shouldn't have independent bodies like both of them should be but we don't (and not only when the Tories are in charge.)
 
One of the landscape architects that was involved in the Ontario Place project has left the team (and resigned as a principle at LANDinc) over the decision to clear cut the West Island.

Walter Kehm was a friend of the original Ontario Place landscape planner Michael Hough and was involved w/the design of the adjacent Trillium Park.

As of posting the story is not paywalled.

www.thestar.com

‘It’s time for telling the truth’: Ontario Place architect steps away from Doug Ford’s revamp to speak out against tree clearing

Walter Kehm said he could no longer be tied to a project that threatens a decades-old wildlife habitat.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

In the story he not only disagrees philosophically w/the choice, but argues that the claims of necessity made as they relate to soil remediation and erosion don't hold water.
 
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Northern Light said:
One of the landscape architects that was involved in the Ontario Place project has left the team (and resigned as a principle at LANDinc) over the decision to clear cut the West Island.

Walter Kehm was a friend of the original Ontario Place landscape planner Michael Hough and was involved w/the design of the adjacent Trillium Park.

As of posting the story is not paywalled.

www.thestar.com

‘It’s time for telling the truth’: Ontario Place architect steps away from Doug Ford’s revamp to speak out against tree clearing

Walter Kehm said he could no longer be tied to a project that threatens a decades-old wildlife habitat.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

In the story he not only disagrees philosophically w/the choice, but argues that the claims of necessity made as they relate to soil remediation and erosion don't hold water.
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Courage and leadership personified. Thank you, Walter Kehm.
 
toronto.ctvnews.ca

Doug Ford government taken to court over Ontario Place development

An injunction has been filed to stop the provincial government from developing the West Island of Ontario Place, arguing the building of a private spa will result in the “complete obliteration of the naturalized ecosystem.”
toronto.ctvnews.ca toronto.ctvnews.ca

Interesting approach. There is a reason the west island was legally exempted from the environmental assessment because its a private development. I dont think this has much chance of success.

Add to that the federal environmental assessment which also is on shaky ground after the SCC poked a massive hole in it
 
I noticed some report on debate at Queen's Park where Kinga Surma claimed, on behalf of Ontario Place's recent history of neglect, Live Nation having to cancel its 2017 events due to flooding.

Well, duh, that was the year of the record floods that wracked *all* of the waterfront, most notoriously the Islands, where Centreville and other attractions had to be closed for much if not all of the season. (But yeah, bury that fine detail so that it looks like it's OP's fault.).
 
adma said:
I noticed some report on debate at Queen's Park where Kinga Surma claimed, on behalf of Ontario Place's recent history of neglect, Live Nation having to cancel its 2017 events due to flooding.

Well, duh, that was the year of the record floods that wracked *all* of the waterfront, most notoriously the Islands, where Centreville and other attractions had to be closed for much if not all of the season. (But yeah, bury that fine detail so that it looks like it's OP's fault.).
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The fact the islands also had flooding issues doesnt mean Ontaio Place doesnt need better flood protection and a replaced soil

head on over to the billy bishop airport thread to talk about why turning that into a park as-is is difficult
 
generalcanada said:
The fact the islands also had flooding issues doesnt mean Ontaio Place doesnt need better flood protection and a replaced soil

head on over to the billy bishop airport thread to talk about why turning that into a park as-is is difficult
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A park is the easier option at Billy Bishop, as is passive use at OP.

Irrespective of one's preferences or takes on any proposals.

Buildings are harder, particularly multi-storey ones, which require deeper foundations/shoring/piles etc.

Grass can flood to relatively little effect, the grass isn't usable while flooded.

Buildings being flooded doesn't simply preclude their use, but cause expensive damage.

If you do want a park that retains usability in a high water scenario, most of OP actually does that now, because its graded into hills.

A small number of low-lying sections may benefit from being marginally raised, but flooding is less of an issue at OP than the Islands, largely because of the majority of the topography/landscape.

****

To step back; the issues at OP that were noted again recently is the idea that extensive re-grading is required and that this triggers the need to clear cut the trees.

I will emphatically state that this is not true, if you don't build Therme.

Limited intervention may be desirable, even if the site remains a park, but the scale at which that would occur is substantially lower.
 
And besides, when it comes to the Islands, one can see Doug Ford trying to use the 2017 floods as an alibi to clear out the cottages from Wards & Algonquin. And big deal about 99-years leases there; you can be sure DoFo will try to explore what kind of notwithstanding-clause or ministerial-order shenanigans can be done to expropriate them...
 
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