The WT staff at The Lookout both times I was there are enthusiastic and motivated to at least get the current tower open on weekends. But they need to figure out who is available, whether it is done on an ad hoc or a scheduled basis (e.g., first Saturday of every month, etc.), plus I imagine there needs to be budget to pay the staff to come in on their days off, and so on. But they assure me it will be happening!

Getting a permanent structure built is also something they want, but plans have not yet solidified on that.
I gather that most of the staff are from the communications department which may not be able to spare people. Another issue brought up was the weather which is unpredictable and the viewing deck isn’t covered. But all of these problems could be solved with a little funding from a sponsor!
 
But all of these problems could be solved with a little funding from a sponsor!
There was also mention of an idea where little viewing platforms could be setup at various points along the fencing so people can get a better view of the construction progress. WT also received a lot of feedback begging they setup live cams and stream 24x7. 😁
 
Anyone know what's going on with the South Cherry St bridge lighting? The LED strips are installed and wired up (seemingly), but the bridge has remained dark at night.

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There was a lady at The Lookout this afternoon there who was absolutely gushing with excitement when I told her about UrbanToronto. She says none of her friends are into public works infrastructure. If only she knew there were a bunch of us there with her. Hope she pokes her head in here soon!

I always mention UT to people when the conversation leads to our topics. It's a pleasure seeing the eyes light up discovering there's a site like this.
 
I love what has been done with the bridges but I do have a little question. Why is there no sidewalk on the east side? I only noticed because I wanted to take pix of the upstream and had to climb over dividers and go to the other end. There may be a practical reason but I am not seeing it.
 
There was a lady at The Lookout this afternoon there who was absolutely gushing with excitement when I told her about Urban Toronto. She says none of her friends are into public works infrastructure. If only she knew there were a bunch of us there with her. Hope she pokes her head in here soon!
I think I biked by just as you guys were wrapping up, I was a little too distracted by the jerk who was driving their car in the bike lane... then climbing the sidewalk once they realized the bike lane was blocked. Maybe we need a bollard somewhere.
 
Here is an update on the Bascule Bridge work that was recently posted by PortsToronto. See: https://www.portstoronto.com/portstoronto/media-room/feature-stories/port-of-toronto-ship-channel-bridge-–-rehabilitati.aspx

They were tidying up the east sidewalks around the bridge last week and the bridge is now fully open to vehicle traffic.

"This project will modernize three key components of this ageing infrastructure. Phase 1 of the Ship Channel Bridge Rehabilitation Project will reach substantial completion in March 2024, and as a result, both the north and south roadway approaches to the bridge will re-open to vehicle traffic in early February 2024.

Phase 1 – Substantial completion in March 2024.
  1. Rehabilitation of the bridge north and south roadway approach spans.
Phase 2 – To commence in late 2024.
  1. Restoration of the Bascule lift bridge structure.
  2. Replacement of end of life mechanical and electrical lift systems.
The majority of work related to this phase of the project is limited to the winter months when the Ship Channel Bridge lift is not operational. It is expected that the overall project will be completed in 2027.

During this project , PortsToronto and the City of Toronto will ensure the continued safe transportation of cargo and goods across the Ship Channel Lift Bridge while maintaining marine, vehicle and pedestrian traffic along the various rights of way serviced by the bridge.

PortsToronto consults with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation on all projects.

For project related enquiries, please contact shipchannelbridge@portstoronto.com.
Feb 6
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I assume this bridge is being painted. Perhaps I missed in previous posts. Any idea what colour it will be?
 
I assume this bridge is being painted. Perhaps I missed in previous posts. Any idea what colour it will be?
Yes, the metal repair will, of course!, come first and then the painting. The tendency with regular bridges (eg. Bathurst) seems to be black - a bit boring but it also hides the many imperfections in these old bridges. Look at the link to the PortsToronto page on all of this just above.
 
It’s always been green so they’ll probably just restore that colour
I think painting metal (bridges, expressways etc) green was not always the standard and the City seems to now use black but I guess we will see. As far as I understand, the work on the concrete parts of the bridge etc (just about completed) was a City contract but the metal work & machinery will be PortsToronto.
 
Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Lime.

Love it!

Yeah it could definitely use a coat of paint.

View attachment 538783
Great photo. I see the salt mounds to the south of this bridge in a new way:as public art! I know that Mimmo Paladino does great things with what is called Land Art or large scale installations that are outside. He did a huge pile of salt with statues poking out of it in the central piazza in Naples and we could do the same thing here (and still store the salt to use in the winter.)
 

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