Shabby Public Realm

[picard102]

There is a natural garden by-law. It does not apply to city-maintained property at all.

In respect of private property, it permits an intentionally naturalized garden. There are some guidelines on what that means. It doesn't come with a specific plant list; but it is not a blanket pass for neglect.

The City absolutely have power to take action where it poses any risk to the public. That certainly includes sight lines, but is not limited to it. A woman was cited not so long ago for leaving a dead racoon carcass on her lawn.

In general, if a private owner keeps a clear edge/border (not necessarily mowed, just a defined limit such that the nature does not encroach the public ROW and there are no other issues with it from a public safety stand point, they will get fairly wide latitude.

Again, all of that is for a private lawn, not a City boulevard.

So I went to take a picture, and it seems like someone came and did something about it this afternoon, despite being told nothing could be done.

 

[Northern Light]

So I went to take a picture, and it seems like someone came and did something about it this afternoon, despite being told nothing could be done.

If it was private property, the normal procedure is to have someone from property standards (by-law) go out and look.

If they think the state is unacceptable, they write up an order to comply and it goes in the front door of the property owner, the time available to the owner can vary, but would typically be about two weeks for this type of issue.

Here's the procedure in writing from the City website:

In addition to the inspection fees and the cost of City crews mowing your lawn for you..........

From: https://www.toronto.ca/city-governm...ws/bylaw-enforcement/property-standards-keep/

This is the section for yards most likely to see enforcement:

There is also this:

This is the list of prohibited plants:

Turfgrass & Prohibited Plants

The Turfgrass and Prohibited Plants Bylaw requires all property owners or occupants to maintain their properties and ensure that health and safety requirements are met. Please be a good neighbour! Learn about the do’s and don’ts for your lawn and how to grow pollinator-friendly gardens. Cut...

www.toronto.ca

These are the penalties for the above by-law as opposed to Property Standards:

What it comes down to is this, you can do a natural garden, the City encourages that. But just letting turf grass grow long does not qualify.

You need to put in some work. But the City isn't prescriptive on what work, merely what doesn't.

 

[deerparker]

Giant wooden poles are being installed along Wellesley similar to Carlton & Sherbourne.

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

Can anyone explain WHY?
1. Why is it that they so often decide that the best place for a brand new wooden pole is in the middle of a freakin' sidewalk?
2. Why is it that 25 years into the 21st century we still have wooden poles with exposed electrical infrastructure in the middle of a densely populated urban centre? You know, instead of burying it all underground like all the self-respecting civilized cities do these days?

 

[DSCToronto]

Can anyone explain WHY?
1. Why is it that they so often decide that the best place for a brand new wooden pole is in the middle of a freakin' sidewalk?
2. Why is it that 25 years into the 21st century we still have wooden poles with exposed electrical infrastructure in the middle of a densely populated urban centre? You know, instead of burying it all underground like all the self-respecting civilized cities do these days?

Because we are too mean to pay to bury the wiring and our governments are scared to raise taxes or increase utility rates to do stuff like this. (The poles often get shifted to middle of sidewalks because there are newer regulations about how close wires can be to a building and one cannot move the building so sometimes the pole needs to be moved.)

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

Because we are too mean to pay to bury the wiring and our governments are scared to raise taxes or increase utility rates to do stuff like this. (The poles often get shifted to middle of sidewalks because there are newer regulations about how close wires can be to a building and one cannot move the building so sometimes the pole needs to be moved.)

Is it as simple as "no money and no political will to pay for it"? Or are there some "economic drivers" to maintain the status quo?
Like, for example, what I saw happening in Montreal with their water main pipe replacement circa 2010. They were digging out rusted-out steel water main pipes. For the duration of the replacement, they created a bypass water line using the modern day plastic pipes, the same green ones you see used everywhere else, because you put them in and forget about them, because they won't degrade over time or rust. But not in Montreal, oh no! That would have been too forward-thinking and pragmatic. So while the plastic pipe temporary bypass was in place above ground, what they were burying back underground was: brand new steel pipes, same as the ones they just dug out. Why? Well, because there was not one, but two steel pipe manufacturing plants in Quebec. So, you know, "economic drivers" of the situation supported "domestic investments". Bla-bla-bla.
Meanwhile, the color of the tap water on the island of Montréal remained a suspicious shade of brown ochre and left you with a subtle rusty metallic aftertaste. Who knows why?

 

[DSCToronto]

Is it as simple as "no money and no political will to pay for it"? Or are there some "economic drivers" to maintain the status quo?
Like, for example, what I saw happening in Montreal with their water main pipe replacement circa 2010. They were digging out rusted-out steel water main pipes. For the duration of the replacement, they created a bypass water line using the modern day plastic pipes, the same green ones you see used everywhere else, because you put them in and forget about them, because they won't degrade over time or rust. But not in Montreal, oh no! That would have been too forward-thinking and pragmatic. So while the plastic pipe temporary bypass was in place above ground, what they were burying back underground was: brand new steel pipes, same as the ones they just dug out. Why? Well, because there was not one, but two steel pipe manufacturing plants in Quebec. So, you know, "economic drivers" of the situation supported "domestic investments". Bla-bla-bla.
Meanwhile, the color of the tap water on the island of Montréal remained a suspicious shade of brown ochre and left you with a subtle rusty metallic aftertaste. Who knows why?

I would have thought that Mr Ford's contractor friends would be happy to be hired to bury wires so I would have said that if economic drivers are involved they would be to bury things.

Both PVC and steel pipes have their place. "The chief advantage of using metal piping is its durability. They’re high strength, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, pressure, resistant to shock, corrosion, vibrations, and other forms of damage.

Another benefit is that metal pipes are ductile, meaning they tend to bend rather than crack or break under pressure. This lessens the possibility of spillage or leakage of materials transported by the pipe.

Metal pipes generally also have low weight and easy machinability — which means they’re easy to work with. Manufacturers have no problem creating, customizing, and installing metal pipes. This ease of manufacturing also allows them to quickly create replacement parts when needed. Thus, it is easy to find or customize pipes to your job’s requirements.

One of the biggest benefits is that plastic is generally also easy to work with. They’re easy to mold, cut, and form into the shapes and sizes you need. This lessens the amount of work needed to make and install them.

Plastic pipes are also non-reactive, which means that they don’t react when in contact with dissimilar materials (unlike some metals). They’re also very corrosion resistant, as the plastics used in piping are specially formulated to meet the demands of a specific piping system."