Public Realm in Canadian Cities - Developments

[urbanight93]

Originally Posted by Nite

From another Thread:

Amazing set, thanks for reposting. Interesting to see the trends over the years. I used to live near Saint Denis and when i visited last summer, i was blown away at how different the street feels.

On another note, it's too bad Toronto is so behind on street improvement (I'm looking at you Yonge St!) People who argue that Toronto's public realm receives better treatment than Montreal are delirious.

The level / scale of change and quality of improvements on MTL streets is impressive and these images don't even scratch the surface. I'm thinking of Sherbrooke St, Saint Catherine. Places des Arts, Champs de Mars etc... Keep it up!

[someone123]

Road closures begin today for the Cogswell interchange redevelopment in Halifax:
https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...ect-100706332/

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by someone123

Spring Garden Road in Halifax (I cut out some pictures to make this shorter; you can follow the link to see more at the original post).

Interestingly they don't all have anti-sleeping measures built in (only partially complete?). They haven't put anything in the planters yet.

The benches are nice however, there are, IMO, the only thing nice. Concrete planters are meh and the different coloured, dimensions, finishes of the pavers is overboard and will date very quickly.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

The benches are nice however, there are, IMO, the only thing nice. Concrete planters are meh and the different coloured, dimensions, finishes of the pavers is overboard and will date very quickly.

I don't disagree although I would point out that the aims of this project were mostly functional or separate from the aspects you describe. Widen the sidewalk, improve transit stops, bury utilities, and so on. Beautification was a part of this but not the main part, and changing the paver pattern is fairly trivial compared to the overall scope of the work that happened.

[WhipperSnapper]

I wasn't aware of the overall scope. I can only comment on what is shown; the finished product. These design choices as intended are just not to my tastes. I don't see replacing pavers as trivial although I do agree it's not as intense as burying wires. It would be a purely aesthetic gesture and no city in Canada is anywhere near the stage of making purely aesthetic public realm improvements. There's always something than aesthetics spearheading these improvements such as traffic calming, bike lanes or, replacing aging infrastructure.

[someone123]

I agree that the city is not likely to redo the pavers just to make them look nicer. My point is more that this is a huge improvement over what was there before.


(Google Streetview)

The reality in Halifax is that a lot of the public spaces, historic buildings, etc. are heavily degraded and it will take a while for them to "live up" to their potential given future investment if and when that happens (but it has been happening during the past 10 years or so).

[Nouvellecosse]

Yes larger sidewalks, higher quality materials, and the addition of amenities like seating and vegetation are generally considered improvements regardless of how well the aesthetic implementation suit's one's personal tastes (within reason).

In my case, I'll reserve aesthetic judgement until after the change has settled in a bit with the greenery in bloom, the return of normal signage, etc. For me, things like concrete planters and street paving depends heavily on their relation/integration to the wider context including greenery. Similar to the dynamic of stark vs lush/adorned brutalist buildings.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

If they stay alive, the trees in the new park appearing to come straight out of bed rock will be a pretty unique feature. It's also a nice touch that you're able see into the energy plant.

Progress on Tesasini Park, Gatineau side of Zibi. This area has been hit by two 100-year floods over the last 5 years, which is the reasoning for the flood resilient landscape. The pathway depicted is above the flood plain.


https://zibi.ca/tesasini-park-new-ad...ne-experience/

[someone123]

Cogswell construction is beginning:


Source

Here is the context.


Source

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by someone123

I agree that the city is not likely to redo the pavers just to make them look nicer. My point is more that this is a huge improvement over what was there before.


(Google Streetview)

The reality in Halifax is that a lot of the public spaces, historic buildings, etc. are heavily degraded and it will take a while for them to "live up" to their potential given future investment if and when that happens (but it has been happening during the past 10 years or so).

I agree the finishes are superficial to the pedestrian realm improvements. In the context of this thread, I feel its a bit like saying it's better than a parking lot as nearly every one of these projects improves on the pedestrian realm/experience over being a simple design refresh. The established aesthetics will be around a long time too.

[Martin Mtl]

Works have began this week on the future PLACE DES MONTRÉALAISES. A 100$ millions project that will be build above the Ville-Marie underground expressway and will link the Champ-De-Mars metro station to Old Montreal. The ambitious project by Lemay will be finished by the end of 2024.

[Nouvellecosse]

^^ That's a very cool project. I wonder who is funding it?

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

^^ That's a very cool project. I wonder who is funding it?

It's the city.

[Nouvellecosse]

Impressive!

[J.OT13]

Nice one for Montreal. Kitchissipi Ward west of Downtown Ottawa is densifying fast and lacks usable greenspace. The City's scratching their heads wondering how that could be resolved. Meanwhile, we have a 2.5km x 18m transit trench splitting the Ward begging to be covered-up.

[biguc]

Are there many examples of elevated parks like that that are actually good? All those I can think of feel like parking garages at street level or are repurposed rail lines and still feel like rail lines.

[Kilgore Trout]

The High Line works well although it is often overcrowded – a victim of its own success. It has interesting views, a variety of areas where you can hang out, and its linear nature means it's possible to use it as a scenic way to get between two places.

In Hong Kong, Exchange Square works well because it's where a bunch of footbridges converge at the entrance of some major office buildings, a train/MTR station and a busy mall. The IFC Mall rooftop is a popular place to hang out and picnic even though you need to pass through the mall to get there, just because it has such a nice view and there are bars and restaurants that keep it lively. Same goes for the Pacific Place rooftop, which has the benefit of being on a hillside and being directly accessible from Hong Kong Park next door.

The convention centre rooftop in Vancouver works because it has a spectacular view and it slopes down towards the ground level, which makes the transition feel pretty seamless. Montreal has a similar park under construction on the roof of the new bus depot on Bellechasse. It will act as a kind of artificial hillside with a perfect view of the sunset so I expect it to be popular.

The key is connectivity, and it helps if there's a good view that will encourage people to hang out in the space. The Place des Montréalaises is not so much an elevated park as it is a landscaped footbridge connecting an existing park and plaza (Champ de Mars, Place Vauquelin) with a new park around the metro station. Since it's already the main pedestrian link between the eastern part of Old Montreal and the metro, I expect it will be pretty busy.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Impressive!

I forgot to mention that the actual covering of the trenched expressway was paid by the Quebec governement at a cost of 65$millions. So the whole project is 165$ miilions, out of which the city is paying 100$. The covering of the Ville-Marie expressway is already done.

[WhipperSnapper]

It's a very pretty design but, there doesn't seem much to do or explore for such a large expansive place.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

It's a very pretty design but, there doesn't seem much to do or explore for such a large expansive place.

It's not a park like de Maisonneuve or Parc Mont-Royal where you go there as a destination. It's more like the parks found in the downtown core.

Place du Canada / Square Dorchester

It's more of a place to hang out during the day, as you can see, it's right beside the CHUM superhospital. It will also serve as a relay to go to Old Montréal. There will be a lot of trees so during the summer heat people will be able to relax in the shade.