Spring Garden Streetscape

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It's those plastic herons. This is responsible for the wetland ambience. Whoever put those lawn decorations in there at least had a sense of humour.

That's it!

Would this now be considered "public art"?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Would this now be considered "public art"?

Well, what used to be considered graffiti are now public murals of the side of buildings, and apparently is felt to contribute to the character of the urban realm. Heck, we just finished a festival here in Moncton where "artists" from all over the world were invited to smear their creations all over the facades of downtown buildings.

So, sure, why can't a small clutch of 99 cent lawn ornaments bought at Dollarama stuck in an otherwise shabby and ignored street planter be considered street art.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Seems to be a lot to ask of a Planning Dept. Wait, what?

Isn't it the contractor who'd be installing soil and plantings, not city bureaucrats?

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

Isn't it the contractor who'd be installing soil and plantings, not city bureaucrats?

Yeah it sounds like there is something going on between the city and the contractor.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Yeah it sounds like there is something going on between the city and the contractor.

As I understand it they are waiting on soil which is going to be a mix of sand and organic matter, which will allow for appropriate drainage. These are stormwater gardens, you can see some stormwater drains on the street are directed into them. As soon as they have that, all the plants are ready to go.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by atbw

As I understand it they are waiting on soil which is going to be a mix of sand and organic matter, which will allow for appropriate drainage. These are stormwater gardens, you can see some stormwater drains on the street are directed into them. As soon as they have that, all the plants are ready to go.

Hmm??

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

Isn't it the contractor who'd be installing soil and plantings, not city bureaucrats?

The bureaucrats do not move earth, they move paper. They were responsible for selecting the contractor and overseeing that the work was done as specified. That has not occurred. Apparently there is a shortage of approved designer dirt and designer sand, although when I was at a big-box store on the weekend they had thousands of sacks of each on pallets in their lot. Regardless, that is the reason the bureaucrats seemingly accepted.

[Haliguy]

Noticed tonight they are finally putting the top soil in the planters.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Noticed tonight they are finally putting the top soil in the planters.

It's a HRM miracle! Now let us pray for some actual living plants <bows head>.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It's a HRM miracle! Now let us pray for some actual living plants <bows head>.

Just like the soil mix, the plants are "special", and unobtainable from Home Depot. They are being sourced from a rare plant nursery in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, and should arrive in Halifax sometime in the second quarter of 2023 (barring supply chain issues).

[atbw]

Took a stroll down tonight, lots of planters have trees in them — a noticeable amount of trees, actually. I’ve also heard from Waye that the car ban is going back in place around the 8th, tentatively.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by atbw

I’ve also heard from Waye that the car ban is going back in place around the 8th, tentatively.

I'm not surprised that he isn't letting go of that bone.

Are they going to continue the ban on taxicabs and garbage trucks???

[Empire]

Originally Posted by atbw

Took a stroll down tonight, lots of planters have trees in them — a noticeable amount of trees, actually. I’ve also heard from Waye that the car ban is going back in place around the 8th, tentatively.

Are they suitable trees for an urban environment?

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by atbw

Took a stroll down tonight, lots of planters have trees in them — a noticeable amount of trees, actually. I’ve also heard from Waye that the car ban is going back in place around the 8th, tentatively.

Geez why can't they just leave it be for a few years? This is not the right time. There is too much going on downtown with the Cogswell coming down, etc. Hopefully they will a least wait until South Park is open again.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Geez why can't they just leave it be for a few years? This is not the right time. There is too much going on downtown with the Cogswell coming down, etc. Hopefully they will a least wait until South Park is open again.

Have to agree, but at this point I don't think that common-sense thinking of that sort will have any effect on council.

I am curious on how it will work out in the long run, though. As a motorist I rarely drove on SGR during the day as it was difficult to make progress with all the pedestrians crossing. I'm wondering if there will be bus traffic jams with this, plus the bottlenecks that exist to the east on Barrington. In other words, will the net effect actually result in an improvement to bus service, or is this just a virtue-signalling project by council?

I still say the best outcome for the street is to make it pedestrian-centred with vehicle access limited to delivery vehicles and drop-offs for folks with mobility issues (and garbage collection, of course, though that would only be a weekly thing). Filling the street with buses (not to mention their accompanying diesel fumes) does not lead to an enjoyable pedestrian experience.

[gohaligo]

This streetscape looks like it 10 years old already. The benches/seat seat arms are already falling apart and the wood is checking and splitting.
The design looks like the committee tried to design a horse and wound up with a camel.

[LikesBikes]

Considering the amount of people I see using the street furniture I think it's unfair to consider it all a failure. And before the usuals come in saying it's all homeless folks that's not really the case. Been there a few times in the last few weeks and there's quite a few uni-looking folks drinking their starbucks, older folks chatting and normies waiting for the bus. Once more of the trees are planted in and they mature I think it'll improve further quite a bit.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

Considering the amount of people I see using the street furniture I think it's unfair to consider it all a failure. And before the usuals come in saying it's all homeless folks that's not really the case. Been there a few times in the last few weeks and there's quite a few uni-looking folks drinking their starbucks, older folks chatting and normies waiting for the bus. Once more of the trees are planted in and they mature I think it'll improve further quite a bit.

Completely agree; some of the comments on the streetscaping seem like negativity for its own sake. There have been some gouges and chips in the concrete, which I take to actually be the result of careless wielding of construction equipment during the actual streetscaping itself. Otherwise, the wear and tear to my eyes looks very normal--things have been their for a few months, and it doesn't look it was just uncrated yesterday anymore. It's the difference between brand-new and somewhat lived in. But I've been on SGR plenty and certainly haven't noticed any rickety benches or seemingly sub-standard construction. The real aesthetic problem has been the bare planters full of mud and cigarette butts, which is a bit embarrassing but easily fixed.

[Empire]

Just want to repost this link to the landscaping in front of thr Prudential Center in Boston. It is well designed in terms of anticipated high pedestrain usage. It is aesthetically pleasing, durable and functional. I assume the trees were selected for a dense urban environment.

This is not what we have on SGR!

REf google maps Boston:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.34859,-7...2iHIMcMBVoHi_w6cIQ7Rg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Empire

Are they suitable trees for an urban environment?

From my conversations with planners around the street trees selected for replacement in the 'South End Complete Streets' areas, they are preferring local species, and trees which don't get so large as to destroy the sidewalk. Once they mature it'll be great, SGR is a big heat island.