jje1000 said:
An interesting first look at the park?
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A bit underwhelming so far, but keep an open mind until all the info is out. Now, where is the Ford and Lisi Marijuana Gardens - it's probably as Toronto as it gets. Oops, I forgot, this is Ontario Place, not Rexdale Commons.

AoD
 
Looks somewhat promising. Love how the path is directly against the water, it'll be nice to walk down the rocks and get close to the water! Love the suggestion for an ice skating path in the winter too, a great way to get those to the Waterfront in the winter!
 
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TOBoy said:
Yawn...
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It's fine to be bored with the presentation materials...but that's why you can submit your comments for improvement by Feb 21st. This is a public process, after all. I always wonder how so many people can complain after the fact when they could have been actively involved. Apathy gets you nowhere in life. A parking lot turned into greenspace = a very good thing :D
 
It is underwhelming, though I don't know what I was expecting... I'm willing to keep an open mind though.
 
How can you not love the animal sculptures? Perfect setting for them. I'm all for a northern Ontario look here; windswept trees and all. This is Ontario Place...and most of Ontario is wilderness.
 
RiverCity1 said:
How can you not love the animal sculptures? Perfect setting for them. I'm all for a northern Ontario look here; windswept trees and all. This is Ontario Place...and most of Ontario is wilderness.
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If you want windswept trees and isolation, just head over to Tommy Thompson Park. You'll get miles and miles of bush, just like northern Ontario. The spit is huge and it's surrounded by water on all sides. I think Ontario Place should be a little more urban. Why build more of what we already have lots of?

Walk along the Don or Humber rivers and you will also see miles and miles of undeveloped wilderness. It goes right from the waterfront to the northern edge of the city. We also have Rouge park, which is the largest urban wilderness park in the world. It's also completely empty of people. It's just sitting there waiting to be used by human beings but nobody seems to notice it. Ask people if they have ever been there. Almost nobody in Toronto has set foot in it, except the small section of it that contains the Toronto Zoo.

Does Toronto have a great need for more passive wilderness? I'd say no. What we really lack, is great, urban parks that actually give people a reason to go there. (besides taking fido to poop or jog/cycle through it for exercise)

How many parks do you see in Toronto like Golden Gate Park or Central Park? Those parks have theatres, art galleries, museums, great fountains, boat rentals, zoos and other fun things that people want to see and do. Where are our great active, animated, creative parks? We have lots of (grass & trees) parks for sports but what about art and culture? Do we have any culture parks? Sure, we have Harbourfront but that's not a park, it's a neighbourhood with some minor cultural/arts attractions. Yeah, I know, great cultural/arts parks cost money and we are so very poor.

So how about we stop building passive parks and save our money for a really great arts/cultural park? Wasn't Ontario Place supposed to be that great arts/cultural park? So what happened?
 
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Torontovibe said:
If you want windswept trees and isolation, just head over to Tommy Thompson Park. You'll get miles and miles of bush, just like northern Ontario. The spit is huge and it's surrounded by water on all sides. I think Ontario Place should be a little more urban. Why build more of what we already have lots of?

Walk along the Don or Humber rivers and you will also see miles and miles of undeveloped wilderness. It goes right from the waterfront to the northern edge of the city. We also have Rouge park, which is the largest urban wilderness park in the world. It's also completely empty of people. It's just sitting there waiting to be used by human beings but nobody seems to notice it. Ask people if they have ever been there. Almost nobody in Toronto has set foot in it, except the small section of it that contains the Toronto Zoo.

Does Toronto have a great need for more passive wilderness? I'd say no. What we really lack, is great, urban parks that actually give people a reason to go there. (besides taking fido to poop or jog/cycle through it for exercise)
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Agreed, this area can be made into a national landmark with the right ideas.
 
I love urban parks with a theme. I love pink umbrellas and white muskoka chairs, too. But, again, this isn't owned by the City of Toronto. Plus, not everyone living downtown makes their way to Tommy Thompson park, that's for sure! You can rest assured that this will be a park inspired by nature and wilderness.
 
Sadly, I realize that the kind of great parks I admire, will probably not be built in Toronto. We don't have anybody at City Hall who actually has that kind of ambition. If we did, we would not end up with predictable, uninspiring, third rate public spaces like Canada Square and Ontario Square. "World class" (dare I say it) parks and public squares are something we can only dream about but hey, it's fun to dream, so I'll keep on dreaming. Who knows, maybe one day we'll luck out and find ourselves with a real city builder as mayor and even Premier.

In spite of everything, I still remain hopeful about Ontario Place. It's too beautiful a park to destroy but I do worry that politicians might want to dismantle the whole thing and turn it into condoland or High Park 2. (trees and grass = the cheapest possible option)
 
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Torontovibe said:
Sadly, I realize that the kind of great parks I admire, will probably not be built in Toronto. We don't have anybody at City Hall who actually has that kind of ambition. If we did, we would not end up with predictable, uninspiring, third rate public spaces like Canada Square and Ontario Square. "World class" (dare I say it) parks and public squares are something we can only dream about but hey, it's fun to dream, so I'll keep on dreaming. Who knows, maybe one day we'll luck out and find ourselves with a real city builder as mayor and even Premier.

In spite of everything, I still remain hopeful about Ontario Place. It's too beautiful a park to destroy but I do worry that politicians might want to dismantle the whole thing and turn it into condoland or High Park 2. (trees and grass = the cheapest possible option)
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At the meeting tonight, they emphasized that they're still early in the process, and they encouraged as many people as possible to send in their feedback on what kind of park they'd like to see. I'd recommend sending in your thoughts: http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/ontarioplace/park_trails.shtml
 
Thanks Ramako!

I just submitted a proposal for a particular path in honour of my favorite writer Naseem Taleb "Anti-fragile". I had been trying to find a way to submit the idea but all the feedback seemed to require a Twitter account!

Thanks again.

See below:

Naturalistic paths are rare in the urban environment. I’m proposing the following not for extreme athletes, but families and ordinary people. It would replace the conventional asphalt path.
Length: 5 – 10 kilometers
Width: 5 metres
Pedestrians only
Features:
• Gravel sections (sand and earth have upkeep issues)
• Turns and changes in direction
• Utilizing rather than levelling or bypassing natural slopes
• Outdoor stairways (up & down), with varying number of steps, each stair with varying height & depth
• Portions of the path would be non-level (slightly tilted left or right)
• Rough portions, equivalent to cobble stones
• Stations where small objects (2 - 10 pounds) could be carried to the next station. Perhaps pedestrians could co-operate to ensure they remain well distributed?
• Modest obstacles (the proverbial log across the path)
• Portions forcing people to vary, shorten, or lengthen their gate like walking along railroad tracks
Big sign absolving city of liability relating to rolled ankles, aggravation, lateness for business meetings and so forth.
 
Torontovibe said:
Sadly, I realize that the kind of great parks I admire, will probably not be built in Toronto. We don't have anybody at City Hall who actually has that kind of ambition. If we did, we would not end up with predictable, uninspiring, third rate public spaces like Canada Square and Ontario Square. "World class" (dare I say it) parks and public squares are something we can only dream about but hey, it's fun to dream, so I'll keep on dreaming. Who knows, maybe one day we'll luck out and find ourselves with a real city builder as mayor and even Premier.

In spite of everything, I still remain hopeful about Ontario Place. It's too beautiful a park to destroy but I do worry that politicians might want to dismantle the whole thing and turn it into condoland or High Park 2. (trees and grass = the cheapest possible option)
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Too true. I remember visiting Ontario Place in my summers as a kid with the season-pass. I've had many fond memories of the place and it would be a shame if nothing special comes of the place.

That said, I don't know what I would propose for the site. I am more of a sit back and read through the various proposals before deciding which one I like best - type of guy, and what we need now is an ambitious and visionary plan. But who will propose it?
 
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