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Meet the new kind of street coming to Toronto
#1
Some of the things that have been much discussed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toro...e32828137/

Includes Davenport Rd in Waterloo as an example of how to do it:

[Image: nw-gt-completestreetprofileWEB.jpg]
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#2
Nice to see us getting some attention in TO. I'd love to see more of this in Waterloo Region though. Wasn't there discussion of Benton getting done like this?
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#3
(11-14-2016, 03:04 PM)Spokes Wrote: Wasn't there discussion of Benton getting done like this?

On WRC, yes.  Smile  Haven't seen that elsewhere, but not to say it hasn't happened.

It can be done on Benton, but (the wide part of) the street is only maybe 400m long so it would need some connectivity at the ends in order to be meaningful for cycling.  For walking it would certainly be nice, though.
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#4
(11-14-2016, 04:51 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 03:04 PM)Spokes Wrote: Wasn't there discussion of Benton getting done like this?

On WRC, yes.  Smile  Haven't seen that elsewhere, but not to say it hasn't happened.

It can be done on Benton, but (the wide part of) the street is only maybe 400m long so it would need some connectivity at the ends in order to be meaningful for cycling.  For walking it would certainly be nice, though.

I could have sworn The Record ran an article about it.  Many years ago though.
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#5
(11-14-2016, 01:00 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Includes Davenport Rd in Waterloo as an example of how to do it:

[Image: nw-gt-completestreetprofileWEB.jpg]

Grr.  That image is so misleading!  I looked at that and thought "What the heck?  That's not what Davenport looks like, at all!"

   

I get that technically, I guess that's what it looks like... but maybe in about 25 or 40 years, when the trees mature, it'll look like that.
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#6
Assuming the trees survive.
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#7
(11-14-2016, 08:18 PM)Spokes Wrote: I could have sworn The Record ran an article about it.  Many years ago though.
This one?
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#8
(11-14-2016, 09:23 PM)Canard Wrote: Grr.  That image is so misleading!  I looked at that and thought "What the heck?  That's not what Davenport looks like, at all!"



I get that technically, I guess that's what it looks like... but maybe in about 25 or 40 years, when the trees mature, it'll look like that.

I always find myself saying the same thing about artist’s renderings of new developments. They always look so green and inviting then they usually end up being the usual car-oriented stuff that has been strangling our cities for decades. I also remember one mall expansion where they built “before” and “after” models. The parking lot in the “before” had a little model car in almost every spot, whereas the “after” had cars sparsely scattered about. I mean, they did expand the parking, but not nearly as much as suggested by the models, and they certainly didn’t hook up to a new transit line that would replace many of the car trips. Still, let’s hope the trees do survive. Davenport is better now than it was and will be even better if the trees grow up.
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#9
(11-14-2016, 10:40 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: Assuming the trees survive.

Is there any reason to believe they won't? I like trees and I think notice their condition more than most, and I've never noticed any particular signs of distress in the trees on Davenport.

I think Davenport looks great. Like everywhere, it'll look even better as the trees mature, but we've got trees in the process of maturation, so wonderful!

Giving Benton this treatment would be a great thing.
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#10
(11-15-2016, 09:27 AM)MidTowner Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 10:40 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: Assuming the trees survive.

Is there any reason to believe they won't? I like trees and I think notice their condition more than most, and I've never noticed any particular signs of distress in the trees on Davenport.

I think Davenport looks great. Like everywhere, it'll look even better as the trees mature, but we've got trees in the process of maturation, so wonderful!

Giving Benton (and other streets) this treatment would be a great thing.
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#11
Depends on the rootball condition for starters. A couple years ago a small whirlwind topped one tree on our street and lifted another to a dangerous angle. The one that fell grew around an in-ground transformer and the misshapen root network was a contributing factor in its falling over.

Then there's the salt spray. That stuff is going to leech down to the roots sooner or later.
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#12
(11-17-2016, 12:33 AM)DHLawrence Wrote: Then there's the salt spray. That stuff is going to leech down to the roots sooner or later.

Much better on this than before, though.  The region has been one of the leaders in cutting back on road salt, and has reduced chlorine levels by about half by applying best practices rather than spreading salt with wild abandon.
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#13
(11-18-2016, 12:03 AM)tomh009 Wrote:
(11-17-2016, 12:33 AM)DHLawrence Wrote: Then there's the salt spray. That stuff is going to leech down to the roots sooner or later.

Much better on this than before, though.  The region has been one of the leaders in cutting back on road salt, and has reduced chlorine levels by about half by applying best practices rather than spreading salt with wild abandon.

Although it seems to me that I read earlier this year that it remains a problem on King St Downtown, where many of the trees really seem to struggle.
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#14
I'm surprised whenever I see information about salt reduction, because I can't believe the amount of salt that we still dump on roads around here. I'm interested to see some data about the salt reduction.
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#15
http://sustainabilityprogress.regionofwa...ation.html
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