[habfanman]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this after all the concern expressed over Montréal infrastructure.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/08/14/toronto-concrete-slab-falls081409.html

Inspectors declared a north Toronto office building unsafe on Friday after a 10-metre-long concrete slab came crashing to the ground during the morning rush hour.

The slab fell just after 9 a.m. at a building near Don Mills Road and Highway 401. No one was hurt, although the concrete fell two storeys and landed just outside an entrance to the building.

Inspectors from the city, police and fire department checked the building and found more problems. Officials said it could be more than a week before tenants will be allowed to enter the building.

The slab that fell was held in place by both concrete and steel anchors. A structural engineer who looked at the building today told CBC News it appears the concrete anchors gave way.

Last month, a woman was crushed to death in a similar accident outside a hotel in Montreal.

[Calgarian]

Wow, this better mean that every older building with this system of concrete anchors gets thoroughly inspected.

[drew]

^ Wow, usually 60s and 70s architecture just hurts my eyes. Turns out it really is hazardous to your health.

(I am just assuming this building is of that vintage...)

[le calmar]

Toronto is falling appart! What's going on with this city??

[Rico Rommheim]

Toronto is falling appart! What's going on with this city??

it is?

[harls]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this after all the concern expressed over Montréal infrastructure.


No you aren't.

:)

[Cambridgite]

There seems to be a lot of problems with crumbling infrastructure/buildings in this country as of late. At least no one got crushed this time.

[Coldrsx]

^and most countries... time does that.

We have some significant challenges over the next 25-50 yrs to repair or place again infrastructure.

[Nicko999]

Infrastructure in Canada...:uhh:

[harls]

Some dude fell off my office in Montreal..

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Window+washer+dies+after+storey+fall/1905381/story.html

Hey, it's skyscraper related :uhh:

[Rumors]

Some dude fell off my office in Montreal..

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Window+washer+dies+after+storey+fall/1905381/story.html

Hey, it's skyscraper related :uhh:

A scaffold fell off a building yesterday, onto a woman's car almost killing her.:(

[SpongeG]

some crane fell on a woman's car in montreal too

[harls]

Some people in my office actually saw the guy hit the roof of the Maison du Jazz (he fell from the 18th floor, they were on the 4th..)

[le calmar]

it is?

That's what people was saying when it happened in Montreal (I admit we got an issue with some of our infrastructures though)

[NetMapel]

What's going on with all these office tower incidents lately ? A couple of concrete falling off, elevator broke down, and now this. Hope we start a big round of infrastructure inspection soon.

[WhipperSnapper]

Holy crap! Not surprised by the failure (as I said before, Toronto boomed not much later than Montreal) but, it looks like this building with a children's play area just off to the side of the main entrance.

EDIT: CTV posted the address and it is that building!

[RTA]

Why is everyone talking about infrastructure? A private building is not infrastructure.

[WhipperSnapper]

^I disagree. Ownership shouldn't matter and you can't have business without office space.

[Rico Rommheim]

Some dude fell off my office in Montreal..

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Window+washer+dies+after+storey+fall/1905381/story.html

Hey, it's skyscraper related :uhh:

Am I reading this right? The man 'fell' from the blue cross building (sherbrooke street) and landed on the maison du jazz (ste-catherine street)?

THis man didn't fall, he flew several blocks!!!

[RTA]

^I disagree. Ownership shouldn't matter and you can't have business without office space.

Then basically by that logic everything in a city is its infrastructure?

Most definitions of infrastructure that I know of would be public works like roads, sewers, public rail, bridges, etc. Not private structures used for private purposes.

[Calgarian]

^I disagree. Ownership shouldn't matter and you can't have business without office space.

Exactly, you need the appropriate infrastructure to house buisness.

Toronto hasn't has as many problems as Montreal, but with the Marble slab falling off FCP last year, and now this, time to look into whether the systems that were used in the past are suitable in this climate.

[Calgarian]

Then basically by that logic everything in a city is its infrastructure?

technically, yes. The difference you are implying is purely a matter of ownership.

[WhipperSnapper]

Then basically by that logic everything in a city is its infrastructure?


Exactly.

Most definitions of infrastructure that I know of would be public works like roads, sewers, public rail, bridges, etc. Not private structures used for private purposes.

As you say, "definitions". Most people tend to ignore too that half the bridge infrastructure in Toronto is privately owned and maintained.

[RTA]

Say your neighbor's house has foundation issues, would you also call that a city infrastructure problem? After all a city needs houses.

[WhipperSnapper]

Who cares if the other 500,000 houses don't have that problem.

Now if we're talking leaky condos out west then, yeah, that's a fairly significant infrastructure problem. Otherwise, why bother changing the codes.

[dennis]

Infrastructure is the basic physical component of any organization. It could also be a foundation or support.

[Calgarian]

Say your neighbor's house has foundation issues, would you also call that a city infrastructure problem? After all a city needs houses.

It's a city infrastructure problem only in the context that it's in a city and it's a problem. Infrastructure doesn't necessarily mean it's government property, there is a such thing as private infrastructure too.

[RTA]

Who cares if the other 500,000 houses don't have that problem.

And how many office buildings in Toronto and Montreal DON'T have slabs falling off of them? At what ratio is something a failure of a city's infrastructure vs. "who cares?"

I understand the definition is just academic, but just trying to understand the logic behind your definitions.

[habfanman]

This would qualify as infrastructure. BIG potholes! Maybe turn them into underground parking?

Giant sinkhole causes chaos on Toronto road
By DON PEAT, SUN MEDIA
The Toronto Sun

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww130/paulpape/300_Toronto_Sinkhole.jpg
A sinkhole on Finch Ave., east of Dufferin St. in Toronto, Ont., Sunday, July 26, 2009. (Sun Medai/Ernest Doroszuk)

TORONTO -- A stretch of Finch Ave. W. is going to have that sinking feeling for the next few weeks.

Things have gone from bad to worse since a sinkhole ate up a chunk of the road between Dufferin and Bathurst Sts. Friday night and turned the major intersection into a traffic nightmare.

The repairs -- which could take several days to weeks -- will close the busy section of Finch. Officials estimated 35,000 cars use the stretch on a typical day.

Mother Nature hasn't helped the mess. Weekend rainstorms washed away soil and led to a second sinkhole opening up on the road.

City of Toronto officials yesterday announced the storm pipe -- installed in the late 1950s -- that they think caused the whole mess is much deeper than originally thought, well below 15 metres.

Mayor David Miller appealed for patience as the city worked to fix the street.

"(Today) and for the foreseeable future Finch Ave. W. between Dufferin and Bathurst is closed," a hard-hat-wearing Miller told reporters at the edge of the sinkholes. "We need (Torontonians) to make alternative travel plans."

TTC officials warned bus riders who rely on the 36 Finch West and 104 Faywood routes to expect an extra 10-15 minutes travel time.

Miller said the repair work is normally contracted out and the civic workers' strike will have no effect on the construction.

Adding to the repair headache is the fact the drain connects to a major culvert, prompting staff to co-ordinate repairs with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and "additional engineers to conduct borehole testing to further assist in determining the extent of the repairs that may be necessary."

The first sinkhole is about five metres around and 14 metres deep. Crews are fairly certain it's affecting a much larger area underneath the road.

The son of that sinkhole -- just east of the original one -- is five metres in diameter and about three metres deep.

[vegeta_skyline]

The first sinkhole is about five metres around and 14 metres deep. Crews are fairly certain it's affecting a much larger area underneath the road.

The son of that sinkhole -- just east of the original one -- is five metres in diameter and about three metres deep.

'The son of that sinkhole??' :sly:
o-kay...
Well in that case I hope they manage to abort any future children it may bare.

[Calgarian]

And how many office buildings in Toronto and Montreal DON'T have slabs falling off of them?

The fact that any buildings are having this problem is a pretty serious issue.

I understand the definition is just academic, but just trying to understand the logic behind your definitions.lets just leave it alone now, no need to fill this thread with arguments about the definition of Infrastructure.