I think the SPG streetscaping has been a huge improvement and when they get this last section done it will really make a big difference with the energy on that end of the street.

I wonder who designed this heavy-looking, sharp-edged wooden seating. The 90-degree corners on the chunky lumber look lethal if someone bumps or falls into them. And they surely do not look comfortable, which perhaps explains the person choosing to sit on the edge of the concrete planter instead in one of the pics. Surely, like most aspects of this project, we could have done better.

You're really grasping at straws trying to trash this project aren't ya...lol

Other than the delay/lack of trees/plants in the planters, I think the SGR renovations have been pretty good overall. The benches are functional and seem to be have built with durability in mind, after-all they're not la-Z-boy recliners.

It feels a lot better to walk down and I hope they bury some power lines in other pedestrian areas after seeing the success on SGR

There are a few that have gouges out of them, or where the armrests have become loose, etc. That's down to heavy use, I'm sure. There needs to be a regular maintenance plan to prevent things from getting shabby. But overall it's good. The whining about this being A: a failure or B: a waste of money has been totally over the top. It could have been even better, sure, and there were some misfires in the beginning (the planters) but overall it's such a big improvement to the street, the negativity is really baffling.

Of course, you also have people out there who think Argyle Street was better when one whole side of it was a giant blank wall.

I found the benches comfortable and certainly better than metal benches (cast iron or the ones with metal "straps"... I suspect they were purchased off the shelf and weren't designed from scratch for the project...

The finished product offers much trash all on its own. I don't need to work very hard to find it.

I suspect they were bespoke. Off the shelf would mean they were in use elsewhere and I have never seen pics of anything like these. Would it have killed the manufacturer to run a roundover router along the edges? Certainly they could have done worse - the old-school benches with the cast metal end pieces and wooden planks in between which always sag badly - but these seem to be at the other extreme. I also don't understand the individual seat units, unless the thinking was that they would discourage sleeping.

Sure seems like you do!

I walk on Spring Garden Road every day, and I find the design a bit disappointing to be honest. I think it looks much nicer than it used to, and the removal of the power lines is great, but I don't find it a whole lot more functional as a pedestrian.

One of the main challenges with Spring garden was the congestion of pedestrians during most times of day - which was why I was excited when I heard they were widening the sidewalks. However, while they've widened the sidewalks, a good chunk of the sidewalk all the way down the street is now occupied up by bulky planters and seating (a little seating would be nice but I do think they went overboard with the number of benches and chairs -aside from parades or events, they are rarely in use). The result is that the part of the sidewalk where people are walking doesn't feel any wider or less congested than before.

In essence, having lived through it, I don't think the result was worth the year or so of heavy disruption, in the way that the Argyle St project turned out to be.

You captured my thoughts exactly. Aside from the Lululemon block, there is no discernable difference to pedestrian congestion in my experience. It feels like they've tacked on this extra section that is mostly unusable.

I hear this complaint constantly, so I’m not going to discount it—people genuinely feel it—but I just really personally don’t find it to be a problem. As well, the seating does seem to be quite well-used. No, it’s never all occupied at once, but some excess should be built in, no?
It also simply looks way, way, better. I mean, SGR used to look like this. The aesthetic improvement alone is enormous.

No doubt it looks much better than before, and I'd rather have the reno than not have it, I'm just saying it could have been better and more functional. What I would have preferred to see is a reno like the South Park sidewalk in front of Pavillion/Curve:

https://i.imgur.com/fgdt1Uoh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WOO8yheh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KULNxXNh.jpg

Design is cleaner, sleeker,and more functional in my opinion - and benches being built into the planters makes for a better use of space. Just my two scents!

Well, it looked like a street with a busy commercial sidewalk (nice work picking the dreariest day you could find on Street View, BTW). Now all I see there is a big, ugly, oversized concrete planter that significantly narrows the space for pedestrians. It is was better-done, it would look like a '70s indoor mall.

Now that was the laugh I needed today, thanks. Even with the planters and benches, the sidewalks are still larger and much more pedestrian friendly. There were still trees planted, and as well as power poles in the sidewalks before they redid it.