Somerset Streetscaping Plan Unveiled

After numerous meetings of stakeholders, the City and its consultants (Delcan) have come up with a proposed streetscaping plan for Somerset Street. It is excellent. Readers will recall that the West Wellie reconstruction got as far east as Spadina last year. Starting next month, more of Somerset will be dug up and new sewers and water installed, and then comes the fancy paving, protected parking bays that guarantee on-street parking (instead of rush hour traffic lanes), pedestrian lighting, benches, trees, etc. The section from Spadina east to the start of the viaduct (bridge) at Breezehill will be landscaped like the … Continue reading Somerset Streetscaping Plan Unveiled

Greenwalled

For several years now property managers, researchers, and environmentalists have been struggling to develop workable green walls. Most of the ones I have seen pictures of or visited have been of the “ragged” or bushy style, with the vertical plant walls containing a variety of plants densely packed into the vertical frame. The photo above is the new plant wall in Minto Place. You can see the east wall of the Minto Place Hotel through the skylight above. This greenwall is much more formal than any I have seen before. Philodendrium type plants predominate. I could not identify any blooming … Continue reading Greenwalled

Greenwalled

For several years now property managers, researchers, and environmentalists have been struggling to develop workable green walls. Most of the ones I have seen pictures of or visited have been of the “ragged” or bushy style, with the vertical plant walls containing a variety of plants densely packed into the vertical frame. The photo above is the new plant wall in Minto Place. You can see the east wall of the Minto Place Hotel through the skylight above. This greenwall is much more formal than any I have seen before. Philodendrium type plants predominate. I could not identify any blooming … Continue reading Greenwalled

Archways

 Ashcroft is proposing a wide two or three storey arch on the north side of its convent development in Westboro. They are proposing an “arched” arch, rather than the very square ones at 200 Lett St (Claridge’s project on LeBreton Flats). The photos above show their north arch. Notice that the road surface and pedestrian walking surface are undifferentiated with so much as a curb or coloured paver. At the midpoint of each Claridge arch is the entrance to the parking garage, so this passageway is sometimes busy with cars. The length of the passageway through the building seems short enough … Continue reading Archways

Archways

 Ashcroft is proposing a wide two or three storey arch on the north side of its convent development in Westboro. They are proposing an “arched” arch, rather than the very square ones at 200 Lett St (Claridge’s project on LeBreton Flats). The photos above show their north arch. Notice that the road surface and pedestrian walking surface are undifferentiated with so much as a curb or coloured paver. At the midpoint of each Claridge arch is the entrance to the parking garage, so this passageway is sometimes busy with cars. The length of the passageway through the building seems short enough … Continue reading Archways

Undoing streetscaping

Millions of your water bill dollars was spent on beautifying Preston street over the last few years. A lot more trees and shrubs will be installed next month to complete the project. Vigilance is required to keep it nice. We have already seen homeowners and property owners eager to pave over landscaped boulevards to make legal or “informal” parking pads. In the case above, the gas company dug up about 6 linear feet of landscaped area along the sidewalk to install a valve. They backfilled with sand but did not replace the mulch. Nor did they bother to replant the … Continue reading Undoing streetscaping

Undoing streetscaping

Millions of your water bill dollars was spent on beautifying Preston street over the last few years. A lot more trees and shrubs will be installed next month to complete the project. Vigilance is required to keep it nice. We have already seen homeowners and property owners eager to pave over landscaped boulevards to make legal or “informal” parking pads. In the case above, the gas company dug up about 6 linear feet of landscaped area along the sidewalk to install a valve. They backfilled with sand but did not replace the mulch. Nor did they bother to replant the … Continue reading Undoing streetscaping

Aloha Rainbow

The Hawaiian licence plates all have a rainbow on them. On my first day in Hawaii, I was impressed by their tolerance or the astonishing proliferation of gay drivers. Turns out the rainbow — the unsexual one — is the state symbol because there are multiple rainbows in the sky every afternoon after it showers on the mountaintops and we are on the beach in the sun. On the main drag, this store had large posters for valentines day. Boy-boy. Girl-boy. Girl-girl. America the tolerant. Continue reading Aloha Rainbow

Aloha Rainbow

The Hawaiian licence plates all have a rainbow on them. On my first day in Hawaii, I was impressed by their tolerance or the astonishing proliferation of gay drivers. Turns out the rainbow — the unsexual one — is the state symbol because there are multiple rainbows in the sky every afternoon after it showers on the mountaintops and we are on the beach in the sun. On the main drag, this store had large posters for valentines day. Boy-boy. Girl-boy. Girl-girl. America the tolerant. Continue reading Aloha Rainbow

Aloha green

This is a streetlight in a parking lot. It has a wind turbine on the bottom, and a solar panel on the top. The lights appear to be LEDs. It struck me as sort of overkill to have two energy sources (unless the solar electricity was used to turn the turbine to fan the parking lot…). Especially, since the light fixtures were in a parking lot of a state park that closed every day at 6 (darkness comes at 7). What exactly was being illuminated? It struck me as a federal funding project in search of an application. Continue reading Aloha green

Aloha green

This is a streetlight in a parking lot. It has a wind turbine on the bottom, and a solar panel on the top. The lights appear to be LEDs. It struck me as sort of overkill to have two energy sources (unless the solar electricity was used to turn the turbine to fan the parking lot…). Especially, since the light fixtures were in a parking lot of a state park that closed every day at 6 (darkness comes at 7). What exactly was being illuminated? It struck me as a federal funding project in search of an application. Continue reading Aloha green

Aloha rack and roll

Every Hawaiian bus had a rack and roll bike rack on the front of it. Oahu, the island Honalulu and Waikiki are on, is all one big city, and city buses go all around the island including one circumnavigation route that takes four hours. As shown, the bike racks carry THREE bikes at a time. Inside the bus, there is an automated announcement system (audible and visual) that announces every stop, complete with landmarks. Consider an Ottawa bus annoucing “Kent Street… Minto Place, Minto Hotel, Constitution Square, Crowne Plaza Hotel, connection to route 12…”. These annoucements were really detailed on … Continue reading Aloha rack and roll

Aloha rack and roll

Every Hawaiian bus had a rack and roll bike rack on the front of it. Oahu, the island Honalulu and Waikiki are on, is all one big city, and city buses go all around the island including one circumnavigation route that takes four hours. As shown, the bike racks carry THREE bikes at a time. Inside the bus, there is an automated announcement system (audible and visual) that announces every stop, complete with landmarks. Consider an Ottawa bus annoucing “Kent Street… Minto Place, Minto Hotel, Constitution Square, Crowne Plaza Hotel, connection to route 12…”. These annoucements were really detailed on … Continue reading Aloha rack and roll

Aloha transport

 If you examine the above snap closer, you’ll see the cyclist has a surfboard on the rack attached to the side of his bike. On a parked bike, the rack looked like this: However, most cyclists didn’t bother with a surfboard rack, they just cycled along with it under their arm. Yes, the surfboard was longer than their bike; and yes, Hawaii is a windy place. It was also common to see kids about 12 years old with boogie boards on the bus going from school to the beach for a quick bit of surfing after math. Kids also get … Continue reading Aloha transport

Aloha transport

 If you examine the above snap closer, you’ll see the cyclist has a surfboard on the rack attached to the side of his bike. On a parked bike, the rack looked like this: However, most cyclists didn’t bother with a surfboard rack, they just cycled along with it under their arm. Yes, the surfboard was longer than their bike; and yes, Hawaii is a windy place. It was also common to see kids about 12 years old with boogie boards on the bus going from school to the beach for a quick bit of surfing after math. Kids also get … Continue reading Aloha transport

Our Lady of the Condos development

Last night I had the pleasure to attend the public meeting held by Ashcroft to unveil their proposal for developing the Soeurs de la Visitation site on Richmond Road, just west of Island Park Drive. This is a five acre site, still occupied by the cloistered convent buildings even if the nuns are leaving. The meeting was well attended (about 300 people) in a very hot church basement. The Ashcroft slide show was a thorough review of the planning process leading up to the proposed plan. They then went through the plan in a lot of detail. It was good consultation, … Continue reading Our Lady of the Condos development

Our Lady of the Condos development

Last night I had the pleasure to attend the public meeting held by Ashcroft to unveil their proposal for developing the Soeurs de la Visitation site on Richmond Road, just west of Island Park Drive. This is a five acre site, still occupied by the cloistered convent buildings even if the nuns are leaving. The meeting was well attended (about 300 people) in a very hot church basement. The Ashcroft slide show was a thorough review of the planning process leading up to the proposed plan. They then went through the plan in a lot of detail. It was good consultation, … Continue reading Our Lady of the Condos development

Aloha Signage

Hawaii had a real laid back attitude to signs. Consider the two official signs shown above. Nice graphic of falling rocks, with a human figure. The Humpback whale sign requires some closer scrutiny: notice how it illustrates the consequence of hitting a whale — you may be thrown out of your boat! And yes, the whale and boat are to scale, and yes, with 10,000 whales in a fairly confined bay area they are abundant. Food related signs are usually fun. I like the concept of pizza delivery the Hawaiian way. Do not feed the hippies sign was on a … Continue reading Aloha Signage

Aloha Signage

Hawaii had a real laid back attitude to signs. Consider the two official signs shown above. Nice graphic of falling rocks, with a human figure. The Humpback whale sign requires some closer scrutiny: notice how it illustrates the consequence of hitting a whale — you may be thrown out of your boat! And yes, the whale and boat are to scale, and yes, with 10,000 whales in a fairly confined bay area they are abundant. Food related signs are usually fun. I like the concept of pizza delivery the Hawaiian way. Do not feed the hippies sign was on a … Continue reading Aloha Signage