Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

Getting folks to sign waivers would likely be the best idea as long as the operators can demonstrate their equipment is reasonably safe. If not, then they should be shut down, IMO.

That said, and in the end, you can't truly protect those who want to explore and test their wings. You can provide them the tools and knowledge that help keep them safe. It's just how life is in the end.

...more on topic though: I am entirely for bringing back Children's Village with the new safety requirements discussed. As well as replacing Molson's "Amphitheatre" or whatever they call it now, with the original open air stage they had and with no references to beer brands. Thnkx in advance, Doug!
The giant air-supported mattress should be brought back, but those weighing over 60-80 lbs can't jump on it (to prevent preteens from jumping on it) and there cannot be more than one child per 25-50 sq. ft. of the air mattress to balance between capacity and minimalization of collision (it would be preferable if the air-supported mattress had a surface of at least 5000 sq. ft. to allow at least 100 (using the stricter capacity rule) or at least 200 (using the lenient capacity rule) children on the air-supported mattress on any given time). There would be netting around the air-supported mattress. The floor of the Children's Village can be soft rubber (made from recycled soles from old athletic shoes). The "foam swamp" can be reimagined as the "Softwood House":

softwood-is-soft-png.132558


Oh, and parents must sign a waiver. Children would love to jump on such an air-supported mattress and parents have agreed not to sue Ontario Place for allowing their children to get nosebleeds from the foam cylinder "punching bags" or colliding with other children on the air-supported mattress.

When I was young, I enjoyed jumping on that air-supported mattress. Children's Village should return but with more safety requirements (and waiver-signing).

Oh, and the Forum (with the rotating stage) should return sans naming rights to alcohol companies.
 
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Otherwise, the kids will end up having "fun" in the forest. I remember tying ropes from the tree tops and yelling my "Tarzan" scream.

Even rivers can be dangerous...

This is considered the most deadly river in the world...
 
Caught this earlier in the summer. I hope any future plans don't demolish the pods & cinesphere.


Bridge to the Amusements of Yesteryear
by kotsy, on Flickr

That rust on the bridge has me wondering if a tear down and rebuild would be required.

I get that it has heritage value but at the same time what condition is the structure in. The pods have been sitting in water for years abandoned and are rusting away. The cinesphere is really the only thing sound.
 
Ontario Place is a prime example of the phenomenon known as Zeerust.

It's a vision of the future that is considered dated by today's standards.

But I don't think it needs to be that way.

The buildings can always be a showcase of innovation; even as preferred architectural styles shift w/time.

But that would require investment and vision................
 
But I don't think it needs to be that way.

The buildings can always be a showcase of innovation; even as preferred architectural styles shift w/time.

But that would require investment and vision................
It's really unfortunate.

So many great opportunities have been squandered by the powers-that-be.

In an alternate timeline, Ontario Place could have been home to an awe-inspiring ecological arcology by now and it could have been easily funded by all levels of governments and green companies. But no, myopic penny-pinchers got in the way of progress in our timeline.

We can't change the past, but we can change the future.
 
There seems to be a will to save Zeerust.....before it turns into Zee-dust.
 
That rust on the bridge has me wondering if a tear down and rebuild would be required.
Without a proper survey, you cannot know if the structures are still safe but what you are seeing looks like 'regular' surface rust to me and can easily be dealt with by a properly applied coat of paint.
 
Without a proper survey, you cannot know if the structures are still safe but what you are seeing looks like 'regular' surface rust to me and can easily be dealt with by a properly applied coat of paint.

The Ontario Place 'West Entrance' is still open, which uses the walkways beneath the pods.

I should hope they are structurally sound, seeing as I've used them to get from the CNE grounds over to OP, as recently as last year.

I presume (don't know) that they are getting periodic inspections as required.
 
Ontario Place for All (OP4All) wants to thank all its members and supporters for the important victory they won yesterday – the Ontario government’s announcement that there is not going to be any wholesale destruction of Ontario Place.

Thousands of you joined OP4All in demanding the government preserve Ontario Place’s unique heritage landscape, including the Cinesphere, the Pods, Trillium Park and the William G. Davis Trail.

Yesterday, Lisa MacLeod, the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries agreed, and in a White Paper, promised that “key heritage and recreational features will remain, such as the Cinesphere, the pods, Trillium Park and the William G. Davis Trail.”

Bill Greaves, with the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, says the government has come a long way from its "nothing can be saved" talk of 2019. “We look forward to working with the Ministry to develop a Conservation Management Plan to manage change and build on the value of what is already there. That’s what governments around the world have done in similar circumstances.”

While yesterday’s announcement is an important victory, the fight for Ontario Place isn’t over yet.

The Minister says there will be some announcements in the New Year, even though there have been no public consultations on the future of Ontario Place. OP4All’s Cindy Wilkey says it must remain as a park and open public space. “The Minister said yesterday her government recognized the tourism potential of Ontarians’ new embrace of nature and the outdoors during the COVID lockdown. Ontario Place offers an opportunity to capitalize on that momentum.”

OP4All believes yesterday’s announcement was a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. The Ontario government needs to recognize that Ontario Place is an essential public space and that there needs to be meaningful public engagement in determining its future.
 

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