Toronto Lower Simcoe Ramp | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

[MetroMan]

Are there any plans for the actual park? I didn't think we'd be here so fast. In a few days, the land for the park will be clear, yet we haven't seen any plans other than the student concepts.

To be honest, I'd rather see a land swap here. This little space doesn't seem ideal for a park. Frankly, I don't think it's going to be used much. A random little isolated park sitting across the street from a much more appetizing lakefront park and Harbourfront boardwalk.

Instead, the city could approach Harbour Sq. to swap their garage for a new underground garage in this space with an office or residential office tower on top. That would free a path between the Harbour Sq. towers, connecting Queens Quay to the new park adjacent Jack Layton Ferry terminal. Better yet, those towers on York Quay could be rebuilt in the new location, freeing up a Quay side park.

 

[hawc]

The park is going to get used like crazy. I think it'll be great.

 

[hawc]

Why is it going so fast do we think? Was it just way over-estimated originally? Surely this type of work has been done before and the pace it takes is a known thing. Was there something that made this job much easier than expected?

 

[Kitsune]

... I'm wondering how fast they will get the new ramp built and how far ahead of schedule they'll be done the entire thing.

 

[MetroMan]

... I'm wondering how fast they will get the new ramp built and how far ahead of schedule they'll be done the entire thing.

They are taking their sweet time building the new ramp. It's clear that the demo crew is totally different than the one building the ramp. It's a good contrast to how we've gotten used to the city doing things (at a glacial pace) and how long it should really be taking.

 

[wopchop]

Clearly demolishing something is a bit different than constructing something. Not sure how you can expect them both to go at the same pace.

 

[hawc]

Just popped down there now. Incredible the progress since Friday!

And then there was this insane Uber driver who drove RIGHT INTO THE CONSTRUCTION SITE, got out of his car and actually walked up to one of the workers operating a skid steer loader and asked if he could go through!!! Incredulous, the construction worker turned off his machine, told the guy to get the hell out of the site and yelled over at his supervisors who ran over and chased him out. There was a small opening in the protective fencing where he had driven through. When he drove off he was like, fine, fine I'll figure out another way around. Unbelievable.

 

[MetroMan]

Clearly demolishing something is a bit different than constructing something. Not sure how you can expect them both to go at the same pace.

Do you really have to ask or isn't it obvious? There are a dozen workers and several pieces of heavy machinery on site virtually around the clock demolishing the ramp. The new ramp building site sits empty most of the time with the occasional few workers coming in to perform a job. That's the difference. The team demolishing the old ramp put together a plan and are executing it non stop until it's done. The team building the ramp don't seem too concerned with getting it built in the fastest time possible.

 

[Panontario]

Do you really have to ask or isn't it obvious? There are a dozen workers and several pieces of heavy machinery on site virtually around the clock demolishing the ramp. The new ramp building site sits empty most of the time with the occasional few workers coming in to perform a job. That's the difference. The team demolishing the old ramp put together a plan and are executing it non stop until it's done. The team building the ramp don't seem too concerned with getting it built in the fastest time possible.

If they actually start working at a good pace, you would think you are in Spain or a communist China . Then people will get confused. Not good for mental health of Torontonians who are used to a snail pace of construction. The demolition crew is not helping with their excellent work. Imagine if the construction crew did the same. Chaos !

 

[whatever]

There's a lot more latency in construction as opposed to demolition. I'm assuming the new piers need to sit on top of a foundation. That means they need piles, then excavation, then forming, then reinforcing, then a pour, then you need to wait for it to cure, then you can strip the forms, then you can backfill and form/reinforce the piers, then it can be poured, then stripped, then it can be turned over to the erectors for the steel to be laid out and installed, then it can be decked, then you can run your melting lines, then you can add the road surface, then....

If, right now, the foundations have been poured that would mean there's not a lot they can do until it's cured and they're able to form up the new piers. I know they built as many piers as they could in advance of the demolition, so at least we don't need to wait for all of them to go up. And then even if they do get the new ramp built it's not like it has anywhere to go since the roadwork on Harbour can't even really get started until the rest of the ramp is gone. So I guess we could pay a lot of people to stand around and look busy, but it's not as though it would get the project done all that much faster.

It wouldn't surprise me if the rebuild of Harbour takes longer than the rebuild of the ramp, especially if there are utilities that need to be relocated. That's probably the critical path here. And if it is the critical path it doesn't make any sense to pay overtime to put a rush on the ramp.

Edit: Looking back, the new ramp requires five piers. Three had already been built before demolition started, and now they've added the two that they couldn't get because of the old ramp. Once the concrete cures they'll be able to add the steel, so it wouldn't surprise me to see it taking shape by the end of the month. This doesn't seem slow or unplanned to me.

 

[nfitz]

Here's a shot from yesterday afternoon on the PATH overpass over Harbour Street. Dust suppression seemed to be constant.

 

[MetroMan]

York is open again. The last bits of ramp shouldn't take more than a couple of days if they continue this pace after the long weekend.

 

[Panontario]

There's a lot more latency in construction as opposed to demolition. I'm assuming the new piers need to sit on top of a foundation. That means they need piles, then excavation, then forming, then reinforcing, then a pour, then you need to wait for it to cure, then you can strip the forms, then you can backfill and form/reinforce the piers, then it can be poured, then stripped, then it can be turned over to the erectors for the steel to be laid out and installed, then it can be decked, then you can run your melting lines, then you can add the road surface, then....

If, right now, the foundations have been poured that would mean there's not a lot they can do until it's cured and they're able to form up the new piers. I know they built as many piers as they could in advance of the demolition, so at least we don't need to wait for all of them to go up. And then even if they do get the new ramp built it's not like it has anywhere to go since the roadwork on Harbour can't even really get started until the rest of the ramp is gone. So I guess we could pay a lot of people to stand around and look busy, but it's not as though it would get the project done all that much faster.

It wouldn't surprise me if the rebuild of Harbour takes longer than the rebuild of the ramp, especially if there are utilities that need to be relocated. That's probably the critical path here. And if it is the critical path it doesn't make any sense to pay overtime to put a rush on the ramp.

Edit: Looking back, the new ramp requires five piers. Three had already been built before demolition started, and now they've added the two that they couldn't get because of the old ramp. Once the concrete cures they'll be able to add the steel, so it wouldn't surprise me to see it taking shape by the end of the month. This doesn't seem slow or unplanned to me.

Actually, the two you are talking about, are old peers. They are just patching old concrete. Regardless, nothing stopping them on starting construction of the subsurface for the road. The demo crew has been cleaning their debris as they were demolishing. The area is all clean. Hopefully, the construction guys don't waste time, and move at the same pace as the demo crew.

 

[Edward Skira]

Some shots from Friday. Old news already

 

[UrbanFervour]

Are there any plans for the actual park? I didn't think we'd be here so fast. In a few days, the land for the park will be clear, yet we haven't seen any plans other than the student concepts.

On this point- are there any plans to widen the sidewalks of Harbour Street? Plant some trees? Improve the pedestrian realm? It is going to be an actual street now so would be nice to see some investment in making it pleasant to navigate by foot.