yrt+viva=1system
Senior Member
Still waiting for the Kotsy photo series of this park 
Toronto Love Park | 3m | 1s | City of Toronto | CCxA
- Thread starter AlvinofDiaspar
- Start date
kotsy
Senior Member
Still waiting for the Kotsy photo series of this park
I posted a couple cell shots a few pages back. Sadly that is my main camera for shots around the city lately, as it's much more convenient.
rdaner
Senior Member
Love Love Park! Met a friend for brunch at Impact.
70Challenger
Active Member
The finish on the concrete parts of the paths are really nice, much better than typical sidewalk concrete.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
It's exposed aggregate concrete - often used for driveways. It's nicer than your typical sidewalk, but still a step down from granite pavers used around the pond proper.
AoD
yrt+viva=1system
Senior Member
7.1.2023
Finally managed to get down here today. To clear up the guessing about the water colour of the pond, it really depends on the sky and reflection of the sunlight. As evident from other photos, it can be blue on blue sky days but on a day like today it’s more naval-grey due to the colour reflecting off the buildings which just so happen to be various shades of grey.
Around 2pm:
Some things that I noticed:
The outflow area with the leaves and debris screen catchment seem to be placed in the wrong area. Not sure if the breeze/wind is always blowing from the same direction but all the debris has gathered in the northwest part of the pond and where there is no debris catchment. Thus a lot of floating debris swirling around and then sinking and accumulating on the bottom.
Second, the trealis will be wonderful once it is fully covered by the wisteria. But the problem is the powdered enamelled finish makes it extremely challenging for any sort of climbing plant to be successful in climbing. Someone has started to tie the wisteria as it grows but it proves challenging and subsequently will slide down. Netting would help but it risks harbouring pigeons to nest.
Finally managed to get down here today. To clear up the guessing about the water colour of the pond, it really depends on the sky and reflection of the sunlight. As evident from other photos, it can be blue on blue sky days but on a day like today it’s more naval-grey due to the colour reflecting off the buildings which just so happen to be various shades of grey.
Around 2pm:
Some things that I noticed:
The outflow area with the leaves and debris screen catchment seem to be placed in the wrong area. Not sure if the breeze/wind is always blowing from the same direction but all the debris has gathered in the northwest part of the pond and where there is no debris catchment. Thus a lot of floating debris swirling around and then sinking and accumulating on the bottom.
Second, the trealis will be wonderful once it is fully covered by the wisteria. But the problem is the powdered enamelled finish makes it extremely challenging for any sort of climbing plant to be successful in climbing. Someone has started to tie the wisteria as it grows but it proves challenging and subsequently will slide down. Netting would help but it risks harbouring pigeons to nest.
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yrt+viva=1system
Senior Member
Part 2 - Second vist around 6:30pm:
Overall it’s a wonderful and beautifully designed park. As evident by the photos also very popular. If only Toronto Parks could design parks like this but that would never happen. (My 2 cents: Toronto Parks’ in house planners are terrible. Period.).
Overall it’s a wonderful and beautifully designed park. As evident by the photos also very popular. If only Toronto Parks could design parks like this but that would never happen. (My 2 cents: Toronto Parks’ in house planners are terrible. Period.).
Blixtein
Active Member
Finally went there today and was extremely impressed with what I saw. This city is literally starved for these types of public places. The only complaint that I have is the auto noise coming from Lakeshore but we can't fault the park for that. All in all it's a wonderful addition to the waterfront area.
Obsidian
Active Member
now imagine if we remove the Gardiner and it's ramps how much we could do in the area.
prisecaru0
New Member
I love this idea. Yet simply removing the Gardiner and putting a 6 lane boulevard wouldn't do any good. I still believe that running the highway underground, at least from just after fort York to the dvp is the best option. This means we then relieve traffic and clear up the waterfront. Also not putting a above ground boulevard also means that we can replace this new space with parkland. This would be amazing, a long strip of love parks running through downtown.
Northern Light
Superstar
Can't let this one slide completely.
Toronto's in-house landscape architects for Parks were heavily involved in designing The Music Garden.
Which is a tremendous space.
I think a better way to think of the in-house side is a bit like IBI; capable of pretty good stuff w/the right client and the right budget. Certainly many in the former couldn't design a passable garden shed; but some there clearly can.
Parks is beset by a host of problems, which affect the ability of even its best staff to deliver. Budget is one, among many.
Sure, there aren't many Cormier's on the inside (though, there's more than one that have talent) but when you impose dumb standards, afford low budgets and expectations, and pile unrealistic work loads on people. You can't be surprised that its hard for talent to shine. It also tends to leave for a good offer.
Lets also add there are some very well known and well paid L.A.'s in the private sector that can scarcely design a good public park to save their life. Many of those examples in the Problematic Park Design thread were outside firms.
TossYourJacket
Senior Member
We are at over a decade of starving the civil service of sufficient budget now, and people are like, "why can't they attract top tier talent?"
Cause and Effect in action.
Northern Light
Superstar
Absolutely true; but would also add, there are corporate culture issues at play as well.
Think of Andy Byford, who many of us will put up as one of the best transit managers around the world.
He didn't come to Toronto for a fat pay day (though he did ok); he truly loved the challenge of being able to turn a ship (and he was getting there damn it)
Too many civil service sections (at every level) operate with a 'don't rock the boat' mentality. But the people who have the highest skills generally want to do just that!
junctionist
Senior Member
It's hard to think of any city department or service run so well that they really shouldn't rock the boat. Perhaps the Toronto Public Library?
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
I suspect they don't intentionally want to rock any boat...rather their ideas of moving forward runs into those who don't want to move forward. Thusly, the boat gets rocked in the process.