[drum118]

I feel like growing vines on the pillars would be a good solution.

There is no good solution as its a world wide issue.

Anything that can be tag will be tag from walls to RR equipment. Even bridges over rivers.

Until vines grow around the columns, the columns will be tag as well seen after the vines grow.

ML stated from day one that the sound barrier were to be clean of tags easy, yet ML has yet to remove those tag barriers. Only have to look at the barriers at Dupont and Dundas area.

 

[officedweller]

Sure, however, a bit expensive, rules around bridge structures require easy access to the concrete for inspection purposes.

That would require any vines be trellis'ed; and that said trellis'es be movable, and or set in front of the concrete sufficiently to allow for inspection in behind.

Richmond, BC has done the trellises around the Canada Line columns for vines.
It has also done some lighted art columns:

No. 3 Road Art Columns - City of Richmond, BC

www.richmond.ca

The plan to grow Richmond Brighouse

We visited Richmond to see the Brighouse district, tagged by local government as an emerging urban village. We parked on the mall roof, an unvillagey place to start. After a walkabout of the area, …

fraseropolis.com

 

[junctionist]

Vancouver got the aesthetics of elevated transit right with the emphasis on greenery, landscaping and a slim and minimalist design to the elevated structure. If the at-grade part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT looked the same as in the photo above, it would be more aesthetically pleasing than what's there right now.

 

[Undead]

That's exactly how all the suburban extensions--YNSE, SSE, Sheppard East and Eglinton West--must be done.

 

[treplow]

Vancouver got the aesthetics of elevated transit right with the emphasis on greenery, landscaping and a slim and minimalist design to the elevated structure. If the at-grade part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT looked the same as in the photo above, it would be more aesthetically pleasing than what's there right now.

This is why it's so frustrating to see people like Jennifer Keesmaat stoking fears about how elevated rapid transit would destroy Toronto's streetlife. Modern elevated guideways are nothing like the rusting iron behemoths in places like Chicago and Brooklyn.

 

[cplchanb]

That's exactly how all the suburban extensions--YNSE, SSE, Sheppard East and Eglinton West--must be done.

The biggest problem is since we are subway culture I doubt any landscape architects in the gta even have the experience in designing for urban elevated transit. We'll need to hire from Vancouver if we are to get it right. Obviously there will be an upcharge for that and you know what that means for bidding.

 

[DirectionNorth]

The biggest problem is since we are subway culture I doubt any landscape architects in the gta even have the experience in designing for urban elevated transit. We'll need to hire from Vancouver if we are to get it right. Obviously there will be an upcharge for that and you know what that means for bidding.

Is it really that difficult? Do we need an in-house design for everything? Or can we just do a quick copy of Vancouver or Chinese or European designs, then build off that?

 

[Amare]

That's exactly how all the suburban extensions--YNSE, SSE, Sheppard East and Eglinton West--must be done.

But wont be because we're in Toronto, Ontario. Home and King of the illogical infrastructure project.

 

[Northern Light]

Is it really that difficult? Do we need an in-house design for everything? Or can we just do a quick copy of Vancouver or Chinese or European designs, then build off that?

I agree the wheel need not be reinvented in Toronto every time. That's an important sentiment.

But, I would add, you can't wholesale copy everything, all the time. Local weather/climate and soil type is key when 'building' anything or planting anything.

Obviously, we would use different plants for a Toronto landscape, and the visual impact of those may vary (for instance something that might not lose its leaves for six months in Vancouver, might in Toronto); but we also
have to account for snow volumes and snow management (salt), amongst other things.

It's not that difficult; but not quite a simple as cut and paste.

 

[cplchanb]

I agree the wheel need not be reinvented in Toronto every time. That's an important sentiment.

But, I would add, you can't wholesale copy everything, all the time. Local weather/climate and soil type is key when 'building' anything or planting anything.

Obviously, we would use different plants for a Toronto landscape, and the visual impact of those may vary (for instance something that might not lose its leaves for six months in Vancouver, might in Toronto); but we also
have to account for snow volumes and snow management (salt), amongst other things.

It's not that difficult; but not quite a simple as cut and paste.

Got that one right. However architects and landscape designers have built in design philosophies from decades of jobs. You'd be naive to think 30+ years of designing under the same structured priniciple would be easy to break. They don't like copying other firms. It's like a brand name.

 

[Toolio555]

Richmond, BC has done the trellises around the Canada Line columns for vines.
It has also done some lighted art columns:

No. 3 Road Art Columns - City of Richmond, BC

www.richmond.ca

The plan to grow Richmond Brighouse

We visited Richmond to see the Brighouse district, tagged by local government as an emerging urban village. We parked on the mall roof, an unvillagey place to start. After a walkabout of the area, …

fraseropolis.com

Yes except the sky train unlike the go train is not super loud Diesel engines which disrupt and pollute the quality of life of the neighbouring community

 

[lenaitch]

Yes except the sky train unlike the go train is not super loud Diesel engines which disrupt and pollute the quality of life of the neighbouring community

How is that related to vines on columns?

 

[crs1026]

Yes except the sky train unlike the go train is not super loud Diesel engines which disrupt and pollute the quality of life of the neighbouring community

That may be the case until electrification happens - it's clearly roughed in, and the restrictions in the EA approval on diesel trains pretty much guarantee that ML will electrify, just to get the desired headways.

But in general, one can expect that any future use of elevated guideways in the GTA will be electrified from the get-go. We are overusing tunnelled transit and underusing guideways. I'm hopeful that the relatively painless construction experience at Davenport (at least in contrast to Crosstown, and what we can expect with the Ontario Line) may make use of elevated lines a more attractive option for future GTA transit. The remediation and proper improvement of this corridor at street level after the guideway is completed is critical to selling elevated lines.

- Paul

 

[max]

Looks like the last concrete guideway segment on the north side went in this morning next to the bridge over CP. Also saw 4 half segments (girders?) in the laydown yard at Paton & Lansdowne. Would they still need any additional segments to be delivered?

 

[Bordercollie]

What is the lifespan of those concrete pillars? 40 years?