Dundas Street West Revitalization

[agoraflaneur]

I don't know if there is a thread for this project, so if there is already, apologies.

Roncesvalles was finally finished this summer, but under the radar the western portion of Dundas Street downtown (Bathurst to Lansdowne) was also undergoing renovations. They aren't totally finished yet, but a few weeks ago, to my astonishment and delight, I found a series of excellent parkettes placed along the south side of Dundas west, basically from Ossington to Lansdowne. They consist of some brickwork, various plantings, some surprisingly wonderful metal, wood and concrete benches in addition to funky new postindustrial rusted bike locks. The sidewalks have also been redone, while new plantings of trees will be done next spring. Very stoked on this work. Kudos to the city.

 

[Torontovibe]

I didn't even realize that was happening but it's nice to see. Those benches are unique.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Me either, it looks good with some really nice little touches along there which greatly improves the area. Thanks for the update agoraflaneur.

 

[Red October]

Love the mural! There need to be more of those in every area. I know there are a few in the Annex, but despite Bob&Doug's hate of "graffiti", this is what gives our neighbourhoods their unique character.

 

[west]

We have trees planted all the way down to Bathurst now. A modest but well appreciated improvement.

 

[Torontovibe]

We have trees planted all the way down to Bathurst now. A modest but well appreciated improvement.

Now if they could only get rid of those nasty poles, putting the wires underground, the district would look like a modern city, instead of a frontier town in the 1900's.

 

[Northern Magus]

Now if they could only get rid of those nasty poles, putting the wires underground, the district would look like a modern city, instead of a frontier town in the 1900's.

Not to play devil's advocate here, but potentially this could be the source of a certain kind of charm.

An important part of a Canadian identity must surely be the acknowledgement of one's history and roots -- in this case, the undeniable fact that at certain parts of its history Toronto was indeed a colonial frontier town. So why try to obscure that? Why try to be just another increasingly homogenized developed world metropolis?

Recall: other metropolises throughout the globe both embrace and rejoice in their historical quirks. They view them as inseverable parts of their unique identity. They view them as ongoing reminders of their living history.

So let it be with Toronto.

 

[savevp]

^^
100% correct IMO. Finally someone who appreciates that quirk unique to Toronto rather than constantly bemoaning- something all to common on these boards.

 

[agoraflaneur]

I tend to agree with the sentiment as well. The spiderwebs of wires and wood that crisscross the city certainly add an element of frontierism, an oblique reminder of Toronto's past. Dundas itself is quintessentially a main street, as are many of Toronto's streets. That is one of its defining characteristics - it is at once big city and small town, at once futuristic and relic (ok, at least relic of a hundred years ago or so). I feel that so strongly when I glance down Dundas or Queen or College toward the city, and it is a unique feeling that adds dramatically to the urban experience here.

 

[Torontovibe]

I tend to agree with the sentiment as well. The spiderwebs of wires and wood that crisscross the city certainly add an element of frontierism, an oblique reminder of Toronto's past. Dundas itself is quintessentially a main street, as are many of Toronto's streets. That is one of its defining characteristics - it is at once big city and small town, at once futuristic and relic (ok, at least relic of a hundred years ago or so). I feel that so strongly when I glance down Dundas or Queen or College toward the city, and it is a unique feeling that adds dramatically to the urban experience here.

LOL Most people just think it looks ugly and cluttered.

 

[junctionist]

I tend to agree with the sentiment as well. The spiderwebs of wires and wood that crisscross the city certainly add an element of frontierism, an oblique reminder of Toronto's past. Dundas itself is quintessentially a main street, as are many of Toronto's streets. That is one of its defining characteristics - it is at once big city and small town, at once futuristic and relic (ok, at least relic of a hundred years ago or so). I feel that so strongly when I glance down Dundas or Queen or College toward the city, and it is a unique feeling that adds dramatically to the urban experience here.

But this view is based on bogus history. Toronto was a "frontier town" a century before every street was lined with wooden poles, in 1800 not 1900. By the late 19th century it was a real city of considerable size and sophistication that saw electricity distribution rapidly expanded. The same thing happened in every city large and small, but the major cities generally went on to burying their overhead wires (except Toronto). So we're not preserving some early vestige of primordial, early Toronto amidst modernity; we're preserving what was probably assumed to be the fastest way of wiring the city at one point. One might have assumed in 1905 that it would be temporary.

It's ugly clutter that cheapens our streetscapes, blocking views of the buildings along streets, making it harder for trees to grow large and tall, making it more difficult to renovate buildings, and generally leaving worse impressions of the city. Major streets like Queen Street, for instance, are lined with great buildings, but what many people notice is the mess of overhead wires, cheap hydro poles, and redundant poles and think that this city isn't very attractive or doesn't have that much history or interesting architecture. It's a disservice to our history, architecture, and future ambitions to fashion ourselves so poorly by keeping the status quo.

 

[junctionist]

I don't know if there is a thread for this project, so if there is already, apologies.

Roncesvalles was finally finished this summer, but under the radar the western portion of Dundas Street downtown (Bathurst to Lansdowne) was also undergoing renovations. They aren't totally finished yet, but a few weeks ago, to my astonishment and delight, I found a series of excellent parkettes placed along the south side of Dundas west, basically from Ossington to Lansdowne. They consist of some brickwork, various plantings, some surprisingly wonderful metal, wood and concrete benches in addition to funky new postindustrial rusted bike locks. The sidewalks have also been redone, while new plantings of trees will be done next spring. Very stoked on this work. Kudos to the city.

The attention to detail in the urban design in these spaces is surprising. Custom seating, unique bicycle parking, interesting plantings, and colourful and attractive paving have been implemented with care. It's both these small interventions and grand, beautiful spaces that make a city great.

 

[isaidso]

LOL Most people just think it looks ugly and cluttered.

I had to chuckle too. Talk about seeing the world with rose coloured glasses. Toronto does many things well, but log telephone poles with wires? In a rich country like Canada? In its biggest city? Downtown??? Around 100 years ago, cities started burying their wires in favour of the new advancement of the day. A century later and this city still hasn't gotten around to it.

Calling this quirky or charming is absurd. That's akin to a Romanian thinking the same about pulling their belongings around town by donkey.

 

[Register123]

I'm sorry , I cannot agree with any of the posters that claim overhead wires are "charming, quirky, unique", what a complete cop-out. It looks cheap and third-worldish.

 

[Tewder]

I agree. Toronto hasn't been a frontier town since 1750. Can we get over this already... please!