AMOR
New Member
The two other disappointing things are:
I crossed this many times over the years. There used to be many entry points for desire paths, which is why the one we're currently seeing isn't visible. The garden in the north west has actually functioned to make everyone take the same desire path instead of entering at multiple areas.@DSC has properly explained it above; for clarity, in the photos you can see a line across the grass where people are repeatedly shortcutting across the circle and the grass is being worn away; that is the 'Desire Line'; a path not intended by the designers, but desired and created by the users of the space.
I agree with this; I absolutely commend every landscape designer who is working a on pre-existing space, to sit down for a couple of hours, on different days, and at different times and see how people use/traverse a space, it will and/or should inform how you design it.
Now, that said, I don't remember a desire line in the circle, following this route before............so I went and pulled up an aerial image from 2018:
View attachment 519620
No real sign of it. Perhaps the road and the parking discouraged people from making a shortcut they wanted to make before, and the removal has now encouraged that choice?
I don't really understood cutting across the grass honestly, I've timed it and it saves you maybe 10 seconds total, but the walk is substantially more pleasant along the generous granite pathway. Going on the pathway means you stay out of wet grass/snow, don't have to walk through frisbees or sports, and it doesn't ruin the lawn.Boy does that ever highlight the desire line.......... the existence of which, is not at all desirable!
I think it should also be noted that the lawn is still blocked on the southern end, so there are certain paths that people can't take if they wanted to.
It's not the desire line I would have predicted. When I was at UofT, most of the Vic and St Mike's students crossed Queens Park and ended up around Hart House - and from there, there was often people crossing the lawn to Con Hall. So perpendicular to this desire line. The one in the photo seems to lead from the UC residences to Med Sci? A bit odd, honestly.
I imagine the fact that there are still fences in places that are not clearly visible in the photo that are preventing other crossings, or that are concentrating movement into that path. I think concerns about desire lines should hold off until the whole area is open.
By the way, a quick story from my grad school days. As I was cutting through front campus on my way to pick up dry ice, a sudden convoy of military Humvees burst onto the lawn flanked by soldiers. On my way back , Ed Norton and Liv Tyler were taking a leisurely stroll along the Con Hall to Hart House axis.When I was in grad school working at Ramsay Wright Zoological Labs, I would take that path often on my way to/from MedSci to pick up supplies and dry ice for my experiments. Grad students like my (younger) self as well as undergrads in the sciences taking classes at Ramsay Wright/Sid Smith/Lash Miller might also be inclined to cut through front campus on that path, either on the way to Med Sci or towards Queen's Park subway.
I agree that until all fencing is removed it would be premature to draw conclusions about permanent desire paths.
The Hulk of course! It's so funny watching it and being like "oh wait that's literally my school"By the way, a quick story from my grad school days. As I was cutting through front campus on my way to pick up dry ice, a sudden convoy of military Humvees burst onto the lawn flanked by soldiers. On my way back , Ed Norton and Liv Tyler were taking a leisurely stroll along the Con Hall to Hart House axis.
(did I mention there were camera crews present as well? Bonus points go to whoever can identify the film )
Bingo! You get a star!The Hulk of course! It's so funny watching it and being like "oh wait that's literally my school"