What should be the permanent name for the park under the Gardiner?

  • The Artery

    Votes: 12 6.3%

  • The Bentway

    Votes: 83 43.7%

  • Under Gardiner

    Votes: 52 27.4%

  • None of the above

    Votes: 43 22.6%
  • Total voters
    190
Coming to Exhibition Place Board:

Board of Governors of Exhibition Place consideration on June 16, 2021
EP18.4
ACTION​
​
​
Ward: All​
The Bentway and Exhibition Place Partnership - Year of Public Art​
Origin​
(June 2, 2021) Report from the Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place​
Recommendations​
The Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place recommends that:

1. The Board receive this report for information.​
Summary​
On November 18, 2020, Mayor John Tory proclaimed 2021 as the Year of Public Art, a year-long celebration of art and community.

In celebration of the Mayor's proclamation, Exhibition Place and the Bentway Conservancy ("Bentway") have entered into a partnership agreement to deliver a collaborative art exhibition, that will take place this Fall in the storage cubicles under the Gardner Expressway on the east side of Exhibition Place lands.

At the upcoming meeting of June 16, 2021, staff from Exhibition Place and the Bentway will provide a power point presentation for the benefit of the Board Members. The presentation will provide details on how the exhibit will welcome the public into the cubicles, for the first time, for an unforgettable civic experience. This unique signature project will highlight the potential use of this space, the connective possibilities between the Bentway and Exhibition Place, and the power of public art to inspire.

Utilizing the Bentway's marketing expertise, the project aims to enhance the branding identity of Exhibition Place as a destination site.​
 
DSC said:
Coming to Exhibition Place Board:

Board of Governors of Exhibition Place consideration on June 16, 2021
EP18.4
ACTION​
​
​
Ward: All​
The Bentway and Exhibition Place Partnership - Year of Public Art​
Origin​
(June 2, 2021) Report from the Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place​
Recommendations​
The Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place recommends that:

1. The Board receive this report for information.​
Summary​
On November 18, 2020, Mayor John Tory proclaimed 2021 as the Year of Public Art, a year-long celebration of art and community.

In celebration of the Mayor's proclamation, Exhibition Place and the Bentway Conservancy ("Bentway") have entered into a partnership agreement to deliver a collaborative art exhibition, that will take place this Fall in the storage cubicles under the Gardner Expressway on the east side of Exhibition Place lands.

At the upcoming meeting of June 16, 2021, staff from Exhibition Place and the Bentway will provide a power point presentation for the benefit of the Board Members. The presentation will provide details on how the exhibit will welcome the public into the cubicles, for the first time, for an unforgettable civic experience. This unique signature project will highlight the potential use of this space, the connective possibilities between the Bentway and Exhibition Place, and the power of public art to inspire.

Utilizing the Bentway's marketing expertise, the project aims to enhance the branding identity of Exhibition Place as a destination site.​
Click to expand...
For anyone wondering, the cubicles in question are just east of Strachan and north of the General Services Building
 
6 proposals have bene released for the re-imagining of the York/Lake Shore & Lower Simcoe/Lake Shore intersections

www.waterfrontreconnect.com

Waterfront ReConnect - The Bentway

Waterfront ReConnect re-imagines the street-level experience of two under-Gardiner intersections through innovative approaches to lighting, color, and storytelling. The projects (located at York Street and Simcoe Street) showcase how the Expressway can better serve our city as a thriving civic...
www.waterfrontreconnect.com www.waterfrontreconnect.com
 
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kotsy said:
6 proposals have bene released for the re-imagining of the York/Lake Shore & Simcoe/Lake Shore intersections

www.waterfrontreconnect.com

Waterfront ReConnect - The Bentway

Waterfront ReConnect re-imagines the street-level experience of two under-Gardiner intersections through innovative approaches to lighting, color, and storytelling. The projects (located at York Street and Simcoe Street) showcase how the Expressway can better serve our city as a thriving civic...
www.waterfrontreconnect.com www.waterfrontreconnect.com
Click to expand...

Renderings Incoming!

Future Forest

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* note......from me......... Love the spirit of this idea; I don't, however, believe that anything based on Oak Savannah can work here. I may provide a detailed explanation of why later; but I will simply
describe that idea as wildly ambitious

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:rolleyes:
 
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Northern Light said:
Renderings Incoming!

Future Forest

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* note......from me......... Love the spirit of this idea; I don't, however, believe that anything based on Oak Savannah can work here. I may provide a detailed explanation of why later; but I will simply
describe that idea as wildly ambitious

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:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

These can't be real proposals. They look like 2nd year university projects, why does everything look so temporary or gimmicky? They're neither creating spaces people will come to visit or spaces that people walking by will likely find interesting or engaging.
 
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Temporary or not; I must confess I'm wholly under impressed by the entire slate of proposals.

I thought the essence of the idea was how to make the intersections more pleasant, particularly as a pedestrian.

What that means, to me, is aesthetic improvements, safety improvements, noise/pollution mitigation where practical, adding some colour and some comfort.

Some of these schemes do nothing for me at all and aren't even rescue-able; some add some nice colour, but create insufficient change and I have real concerns over maintenance.

The greening schemes come closest in my mind to having potential, but both are a tad wacky/unrealistic.

Oak Savannah is a very specific type of habitat created on sandy soils, and maintained by natural or man-made fire.

The experimental gardens have some potential....in theory......but showing people playing enjoying a garden in the traffic island under the Gardiner, with no safety railings next to multiple lanes of high speed traffic
is some sort of delusion, on a few different levels.

****

The money here would be better spent on delivering permanent streetscape improvements in line with some of the vision we've seen for Bay Street. Road Narrowing if possible, slip lanes removed if applicable,
maximum number of sustainable trees added in the best growing conditions one can provide, well lit sidewalks etc.

If one then had the dollars; a simple, attractive, one-colour coat for the deck below the Gardiner; some uplighting of the bents, hardscaping any islands with permeable pavers, and providing a continuous, safe, attractive walking/cycling path parallel to Lake Shore would be great.

By all means, add some art, but let's keep it to one or two spots, and do something spectacular, useful , maintainable and fun.

Thought piece:

Tons of salt water runs off the Gardiner in winter with melting snow ice, and somewhat less salty water when it's warmer and it rains.........

How about designing a very industrial cistern that can collect the water off to one side of a prominent intersection, suspended under the deck...........
Release water only when the tank is close to full at almost waterfall like volumes, into a salt water pool below, with salt-tolerant edge plants.
To ensure they get enough light, use solar tubes and reflection to send light from the south side of the Gardiner directly to the plants. (refracted rays)
 
Northern Light said:
I thought the essence of the idea was how to make the intersections more pleasant, particularly as a pedestrian.

What that means, to me, is aesthetic improvements, safety improvements, noise/pollution mitigation where practical, adding some colour and some comfort.
Click to expand...

Exactly this -- if it's just paint on the bents and a bit of public art, it's something close to the definition of lipstick on a pig, to me, and something that's probably most interesting to drivers speeding past than people actually navigating the public realm on foot. These should be portals that completely transform the experience of a pedestrian getting across the Gardiner/Lake Shore, being attractive and interesting enough to draw people in from afar, and then actually protecting them once they get there. Waste of money if it's not that.
 
adHominem said:
In addition to the other, more substantive critiques, I'd just like to make sure we don't miss that 5468796's proposal brings us "Bent Buddies", which sounds like the world's lamest LGBTQ dating app.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of niche interests out there, and this is a big city…

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