I promised an update on the Queen's Quay trees.
I just had the chance today to walk the Yonge to York section.
The good news: Trees on the south side are universally alive, and in fact none in poor condition at all. Maybe 1-2 are 'fair' but the rest range from 'good' to 'excellent' in health.
The bad news: The north side from Bay to York has multiple distressed trees. They are all the same Maple cultivar, I'm not sure which one of the three they planted.
This highlights the importance of selecting a variety of species, because when one particular set turns out to be a failure, you don't want the whole strip barren looking.
There are 3 species in this block, the other 2 are performing decently.
The upside, since we have a clear indication that the reason for failure here was one species choice, it would be easy enough to make a substitution to one of the 2 species performing better in the same block.
That said, I remain convinced that the planting bed is incorrectly designed here, with the individual pits, and that putting a couple of larger open-trench style planters would be advisable, ideally with a significant
curb separating it from the adjoining roadway.