Toronto Sherbourne Common, Canada's Sugar Beach, and the Water's Edge Promenade | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto | Teeple Architects

Register123 said:
So the water feature never got fixed I assume since it was never turned on and now summer has come and gone. Sad, design flaws?, poor construction? Or both? Should this not have some sort of warranty- like we guarantee it will work for at least 3 years with relatively low maintance?
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It was actually running for a few days but not for many months. The WT website shows a, very small, repair contract awarded in July. "Sherbourne Common Cooling System Upgrade – Mapleridge Mechanical Contracting Inc. ($41,220)" It really is a shame not to see the water feature working all year - the original renderings showed it running in winter but it never has.
I also heard the other day that the water feature at Sugar Beach - or the mechanism - was damaged during the July heavy rain and it too is out of action and also that new health rules make such things expensive to run (water testing etc.) These WT parks are fantastic when they open but do seem to run into far too many upkeep problems and don't get me started on how the City parks folk are unable to maintain them properly. (Many dead trees at Sherbourne Common, beautiful garbage cans removed and replaced with blue bins etc etc.) Sad!
 
DSC said:
It was actually running for a few days but not for many months. The WT website shows a, very small, repair contract awarded in July. "Sherbourne Common Cooling System Upgrade – Mapleridge Mechanical Contracting Inc. ($41,220)" It really is a shame not to see the water feature working all year - the original renderings showed it running in winter but it never has.
I also heard the other day that the water feature at Sugar Beach - or the mechanism - was damaged during the July heavy rain and it too is out of action and also that new health rules make such things expensive to run (water testing etc.) These WT parks are fantastic when they open but do seem to run into far too many upkeep problems and don't get me started on how the City parks folk are unable to maintain them properly. (Many dead trees at Sherbourne Common, beautiful garbage cans removed and replaced with blue bins etc etc.) Sad!
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I think it's more the lack of people living around the area that is causing issues with the water features. With the water feature at Canoe Landing, residents are constantly calling Parks & Rec whenever there are issues and putting pressure to get things fixed right away. Im sure once this area becomes more populated, residents will be putting just as much pressure on Parks and Rec and making sure they are aware of any issues right away.

Those blue garbage bins btw are park standard. Since Park and Rec workers deal with the garbage, they prefer those bins as they are easier to empty, and hold more trash than most other designs. The only way around that would be to hire more parks staff... and we all know how much the current administration loves increasing the payroll.
 
It would also be nice if the general public took pride in maintaining the parks, i.e. the Corus employees who litter the area with cigarette butts is really disturbing and arrogant, as one example. I agree that once more residents live here there will be a vested interest and some more concern for it's upkeep. Citizen volunteers groups are great! While we won't be getting more Parks staff, we can all contribute to the successful operation of government departments by calling 311, etc. In fact, it's our responsibility.
 
I emailed them a while back about Sherbourne Common. They said that the water feature had been damaged by vandals, that something had to be redesigned in order to fix that. They said it should be working in October. Given WT's slippage on every deadline, I wouldn't count on it being on this month. Even if it were, it would be fixed just in time for them to turn it off again.
 
Tuscani01 said:
Those blue garbage bins btw are park standard. Since Park and Rec workers deal with the garbage, they prefer those bins as they are easier to empty, and hold more trash than most other designs. The only way around that would be to hire more parks staff... and we all know how much the current administration loves increasing the payroll.
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Actually the Parks folk are no longer responsible for garbage. It is now done by Waste Management staff and it is they who want all the bins changed to the ones with wheels. In David Crombie Park the St Lawrence Neighbourhood Assn got them to remove these unsightly (though efficient) plastic bins and install more of the standard City waste bins on the park edges (along The Esplanade and Wilton and Scadding). It looks a bit better.
 
DSC said:
Actually the Parks folk are no longer responsible for garbage. It is now done by Waste Management staff and it is they who want all the bins changed to the ones with wheels. In David Crombie Park the St Lawrence Neighbourhood Assn got them to remove these unsightly (though efficient) plastic bins and install more of the standard City waste bins on the park edges (along The Esplanade and Wilton and Scadding). It looks a bit better.
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It floors me how unbelievably lazy and utilitarian this city is in just about every way. We use the same garbage and recycling receptacles in our parks as the ones citizens use to dispose of their own residential waste. In one of my local parks, the bins have been attached to the back of the sign that displays the name of the park. It looks just fantastic.
 
If these are the same bins I've seen in a nearby parkette, they're a bigger eyesore than graffiti and vandalism. Someone should call Ford.
 
Oct 12

I can't get over how quickly the trees have grown here over the past few years. Love them. I want Waterfront Toronto to be responsible for all trees planted in all new parks and along all new and reconstructed roads in TO.

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I cannot get over how great this park is !!! The quality of material / the details ... very very few other places in Toronto come close.
 
ttk77 said:
If these are the same bins I've seen in a nearby parkette, they're a bigger eyesore than graffiti and vandalism. Someone should call Ford.
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They may have been moved, but at one point these giant plastic bins were smack in the middle of a pathway in the highly manicured, Janet Rosenberg-designed parkette at 18 Yorkville. I was floored.
 
RiverCity1 said:
Oct 12

I can't get over how quickly the trees have grown here over the past few years. Love them. I want Waterfront Toronto to be responsible for all trees planted in all new parks and along all new and reconstructed roads in TO.
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These trees were planted in proper earth with LOTS of room for the roots to expand (and are probably irrigated). They use the plastic silva cell system (see: http://www.deeproot.com/products/silva-cell/overview ) . Street trees normally go into 'coffins' where the roots cannot expand and they are constantly assaulted by traffic, construction and salt. The City is now trying to give street trees a better chance but there is usually no real space under sidewalks due to pipes and conduits. As part of the current Front Street East roadwork several old/small/unhealthy trees were cut down just east of George Street and a proper tree trench was created - new trees will be planted soon and it will be interesting to see how fast they grow in comparison to the much older ones just west of Frederick.
 
Yes, thanks, the silva cells really do work! It's quite the method and I can see them up close being installed right now on Trolley Cres.

I was wondering about the Front Street East reconstruction (Jarvis to Parliament) and if the City was going to properly plant trees along this stretch. Because the WDL's were a blank slate, Front Street East designed and constructed by Waterfront Toronto (from Cherry St to Bayview Av) is going to look so much better in comparison. Wishing they could design a lot more streets this way.
 
Recent posts regarding public squares and new park design in Toronto in general have been moved to this new thread.
 
Canada’s Sugar Beach Named 2014 Great Place

May 28 2014 | Area: East Bayfront Topic: design excellence, parks & public spaces, sustainable development,

Canada’s Sugar Beach has received a 2014 Great Places Award for excellence in environmental design. The award was presented during the 45th annual Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) conference in New Orleans.

When selecting a winning project, the EDRA jury pays close attention to the relationship between physical form and human activity or experience. They look for projects that “engage our attention and imagination.”

Sugar Beach, designed for Waterfront Toronto by Montreal architectural firm Claude Cormier + Associés, has been capturing the public’s imagination since opening in July 2010. It transformed a dismal parking lot into beautiful public space while celebrating industrial uses on our waterfront. People of all ages love to sit on the beach and watch the sugar boats unload.

The park also includes a plaza space and tree-lined promenade. The plaza – with its large candy-striped granite rock outcropping – creates dynamic spaces for public events. The plaza’s three grass mounds give unique vantage points for concerts and performances. Between the plaza and the beach, a granite promenade offers a shaded route to the water’s edge with benches along the way to sit and enjoy views to the lake, beach or plaza. Underground, a network of silva cells ensures that the promenade’s trees mature and stay healthy. Since opening, the trees have almost doubled in size.

Canada’s Sugar Beach was one of six projects in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, and urban design honoured with a 2014 Great Places Award. Previous Great Places Award winners include the Dublin Grounds of Remembrance, The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle.

Canada’s Sugar Beach has received numerous awards to date including an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architecture, a National Urban Design Award and an Award of Excellence from the Toronto Urban Design Awards.

From WT website.
 
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