Woodbridge_Heights
Senior Member
^^^ I had a neighbour who would chop down the municipal tree planted by city workers in front of the house.
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- Thread starter Admiral Beez
- Start date
W. K. Lis
Superstar
I had asked the City of Toronto for a free oak tree on the boulevard, ended up with a free dwarf maple. By dwarf, they mean very slow growing.
diminutive
Active Member
Is there any precedent of filling in a tighter street grid into existing suburbs?
Lenser
Senior Member
Don't know. We know in Toronto that if a tract of housing is allowed to become derelict enough, it will eventually be knocked down, with a condo tower or at least a mid-rise condo complex put in its place. But a tighter street grid? I don't know how you'd manage that. The legal issues facing the city would be crazy - the real estate being owned by so many different parties. Short of wholesale expropriation (very expensive), I don't see it happening.
Transportfan
Senior Member
You're right, it does look nice there, and the trees well spaced, but this area doesn't look like that. This area of Mississauga is only about 20 years old, and it almost looks like a literal forest, not neighborhood street tree planting. Just imagine what it will look like in another 20! Streetscapes shouldn't look like the backcountry of Algonquin:
And here is the site of a former gravel pit being developed. The pit had a row of wild trees between it and the road. Instead of removing them and then planting new ones after the development is complete, the city or developer decided to keep the scrubby trees and weedy undergrowth. This isn't esthetic at all--it's a mess, and the built environment will look unkempt, the future sidewalk will have ugly bends around the tree line, and the two sides of the road will look totally out of sync with each other:
This overplanting/naturalization trend is especially prominent in parks. A preserved woodlot in a subdivision is nice, but wild weeds and undergrowth shouldn't come close to the sidewalk, as it does here. It would look better manicured:
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Memph
Active Member
There are a couple instances in SE Oakville where estate sized lots were turned into little culs-de-sac subdivisions. Lakeview, Highland Park and Richvale/Yongehurst looks like they might have had the same happen, but I'm not aware of any examples of actually subdividing a city block with midblock through streets (as opposed to crescents and culs-de-sacs).
RC8
Senior Member
The naturalization of our urban and suburban areas is very important, and it is completely possible to do it in a way that is also aesthetically friendly.
The Music Garden is, for me, the best example of this. It's breathtaking how great habitat for wildlife AND for people was designed there. Ideally wild areas in urban environments would have 'entrances' that do them justice.
The Music Garden is, for me, the best example of this. It's breathtaking how great habitat for wildlife AND for people was designed there. Ideally wild areas in urban environments would have 'entrances' that do them justice.
uptown
Active Member
Transportfan it looks like the trees in the first picture will do a good job of keeping the noise and dust of that busy thoroughfare (and I'm guessing the speed limit is between 60 and 80?) at bay. Does anyone want a home looking out onto nothing but bumper-to-bumper traffic in rush hour and 18 wheelers heading to the nearest big box centre the rest of the time?
spider
Senior Member
Ever occur to you to buy and plant your choice of tree?
spider
Senior Member
People in existing suburbs like the status quo, that's why they live there. Why would you even suggest such a thing?
Oh, while I have your attention, I love the non manicured approach to many streetscapes in the suburbs.
adma
Superstar
Well, remember, too, it depends on *what kind of* existing suburbs--that is, the highly-"thought out" Don Mills-ian sort is pretty inflexible. However, the earlier ad hoc/unplanned exurban type holds tighter/intersticial-grid potential, like a lot of what lines Yonge in Willowdale/Newtonbrook, or in remote nodes like Highland Creek Village, or, for that matter, a place like Windsor where the core French-settlement rang model of development has been prone to a lot of twisting and turning and fleshing-out over time...
Transportfan
Senior Member
The street in he picture is Creditview in Missy. which doesn't have high truck traffic on it. Even for streets that do (which are quite rare as most heavy truck routes run through industrial areas, Highway 7 being one exception) a hedge would work quite well. Also, if the traffic bothers you, don't buy a home on the fronting section of side streets. Remember, they used to build houses with driveways directly on main thoroughfares, sometimes with industrial buildings on the other side of them.
Condocraze
New Member
He pays property tax for a reason.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Gee, that's a lot of bother...
Years ago I asked the city for a free tree for my yard in Cabbagetown. However the requirements were impossible to comply with, as they wanted a certain distance from fences, buildings, property line, overhead wires, etc. When you have 20ft wide lots, you just can't comply.
So, I bought my own tree, planted it where I wanted, and five years later it's looking quite nice. Yes, I trim it around the wires, but that's no bother.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
For a no charge tree?
I don't remember access to free trees being a property right.