Admiral Beez
Superstar
The city has put up signs saying no camping. It's similar to how the city thinks paint somehow makes cycling safer. Visual cues without enforcement are meaningless.
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Allan Gardens Revitalization Plan
- Thread starter AlvinofDiaspar
- Start date
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Rosie DiManno: Allan Gardens is a no-go zone where city hall has lost control
By taking little action against the camp inhabitants, the city has basically given them the green light to continue on, writes Rosie DiManno.
www.thestar.com
Paywall free version: https://archive.is/RYnhk
Here's your answer: "As Moise noted in his post, without regular enforcement action “the City is actively sanctioning this park as an encampment site.”
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
On a more upbeat note, the city website has tons of photos on the ongoing revitalization of the Palm House:
www.toronto.ca
AoD
Allan Gardens Conservatory Palm House Heritage Building Restoration
The City is restoring the historic Palm House building at Allan Gardens Conservatory. The improvements will include window glazing, glass cladding replacement and functional modernization of the ventilation and air quality systems and controls.
www.toronto.ca
AoD
Admiral Beez
Superstar
It will be interesting to see how they present the grand opening with the shantytown nearby.On a more upbeat note, the city website has tons of photos on the ongoing revitalization of the Palm House:
Allan Gardens Conservatory Palm House Heritage Building Restoration
The City is restoring the historic Palm House building at Allan Gardens Conservatory. The improvements will include window glazing, glass cladding replacement and functional modernization of the ventilation and air quality systems and controls.
AoD
taal
Senior Member
What a ridiculous situation ... no clue how this ends and how this is deemed acceptable by anyone.
tripwire
Active Member
The longer they wait (although it's probably too late now), the heavier-handed the enforcement will be. Which would just make the optics worse. There's a small (but growing?!) camp under the Gardiner east of Jarivs as well.
Toronto Rocks
Active Member
Something tells me the city staff doesn't want make waves, so they will leave this on the back burner for a week, so that the new Mayor can address.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
It's a situation that befalls many liberally-minded cities in the US Pacific coast. Like these, Toronto has a four legged stool that encourages apathy, inaction and surrendering of public spaces to encampments and disorder.
- We demand low property taxes and thus have no funding to provide permanent affordable or supportive housing
- We espouse empathy for the homeless including the mentally ill and addicted and vote for left wing leaders accordingly, but otherwise do nothing.
- We have a homeless industrial complex of charities and churches that make the encampments more viable, for either financial or spiritual/moral justification.
- We say we want enforcement of laws against encampments, loitering and public nuisance, but we demand soft touch/hands off policing.
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taal
Senior Member
This is extremally well put and summarizes the situation we are in quite concisely. To be clear this is far from a Toronto only issue, in fact many cities have it worse. With that said, many other cities take a different much more heavy handed approach, at least in certain areas e.g. "their downtowns".
I acknowledge the real longer term fixes here are difficult and multi-faceted, I would argue it goes beyond just providing housing but this is a critical part, but mental health and drug addition (and providing housing really doesn't address this necessarily).
So in the meantime, does the public effectively loose access to these parks, as that's the reality of the situation
Towered
Superstar
Drove by yesterday again - the park is utterly unusable. Saw a trio of bike cops looking more interested in what cyclists and pedestrians were doing than enforcing any by laws in the park. Unacceptable.
gabe
Senior Member
What a mess! I was there about a week ago. I think the homeless population has grown since i was last there back in the early spring. The smell of human excrement as i walked through made me gag.
Northern Light
Superstar
So, I walked past this park today, along the northern edge; things are as people have indicated within the park, and so I won't comment on that further.
But I did make note of something else.
Parks/The City actually spent money taking out the old entrance way planting beds at both the corner of Sherbourne/Carlton and the mid-block entrance along Carlton.
The replaced them with plain white sidewalk concrete.
Holy @#$#@. We can't have nice things because when we neglect them the answer is apparently to remove them rather than fix them, and we then do that on the the cheap.
But I did make note of something else.
Parks/The City actually spent money taking out the old entrance way planting beds at both the corner of Sherbourne/Carlton and the mid-block entrance along Carlton.
The replaced them with plain white sidewalk concrete.
Holy @#$#@. We can't have nice things because when we neglect them the answer is apparently to remove them rather than fix them, and we then do that on the the cheap.
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AlbertC
Superstar
Johnny Strides with a walk through Allan Gardens
taal
Senior Member
I feel this needs way more media attention - that's the only thing I think will cause action - I know there's been some media but it's been on and off.
Northern Light
Superstar
You can help that happen.
Send a note to some key media types who cover these issues.
Not excessive hyperbole, link to this thread, link to the note that was posted from the Councillor; highlighting all the help that was offered; and that the Councillor himself feels unsafe walking through the park.
Chances are if you send a note to even 3 reporters, at least one will cover the issue, and you might just get all three.
One in print and one in TV is a good starting spot.