[rakerman]

I've posted previously in Roads/Bridges projects/issues (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=140104) but I decided Bank Street deserved a thread of its own.

There's a crane out today putting the hideous plastic cap "hats" on the hideous tacky plastic sidewalk-blocking Bank Street advertising signs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4160464708_fcfcd3914a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4160464708/)

[rakerman]

Ian Capstick: Bank Street banner fiasco (http://www.mediastyle.ca/2009/11/bank-street-banner-fiasco/) - November 30, 2009

[rakerman]

via Spacing Ottawa - Urbsite: Bank Street... Then and Now (http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2009/12/bank-street-then-and-now.html) - December 3, 2009

[rakerman]

I thought the large bike racks were only going to be on the side street cutouts, but there are two in front of the Quickie Mart. Here's one


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/4159706569_33302336d5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4159706569/)

Here are a couple more shots of other ones on cut outs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/4159709331_9d3da419ee.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4159709331/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4160466032_e7a8c4f4e1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4160466032/)

[c_speed3108]

I've posted previously in Roads/Bridges projects/issues (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=140104) but I decided Bank Street deserved a thread of its own.

There's a crane out today putting the hideous plastic cap "hats" on the hideous tacky plastic sidewalk-blocking Bank Street advertising signs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4160464708_fcfcd3914a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4160464708/)

They put those ugly things back...wtf are they thinking!

[rakerman]

They put those ugly things back...wtf are they thinking!

They earn money for the Bank Street Improvement Association or whatever, but honestly as someone who lives in the area I would pay them NOT to have the horrible tacky things. Plus which, by the time you add up the expense of having the street specifically wired for them, plus uninstalling and reinstalling them, plus maintaining them, plus they are in your way and make the street look cheap, I'm not sure it's worth it. (I dunno who eats the costs for the install - the city? the advertising company? the Bank Street merchants?)

[waterloowarrior]

Images of Centretown also has a series on Bank Street
http://centretown.blogspot.com/2009/11/bank-street-phase-iii-intro-and-part-1.html

[rakerman]

I heard a rumour that the street art bike racks were all rusting so they were taken down and the contractor has to completely replace them all.

[rakerman]

The furniture is back after a winter vacation.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4550830789_47251655f4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4550830789/)

[O-Town Hockey]

I noticed a lot of the newly transplanted trees from last summer/fall all along Bank Street (including the ones on Mondrian's 6th floor terrace) are struggling to get going while trees all over Centretown are completely green. Is this normal for the first year after transplantation? I wonder if the trees are dead or are they just lazy? I guess time will tell.

[kwoldtimer]

I noticed a lot of the newly transplanted trees from last summer/fall all along Bank Street (including the ones on Mondrian's 6th floor terrace) are struggling to get going while trees all over Centretown are completely green. Is this normal for the first year after transplantation? I wonder if the trees are dead or are they just lazy? I guess time will tell.

A few casualties are to be expected, but newly transplanted trees often take a bit longer to show leaves than established trees.

[rakerman]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4668161250_8eb29018b3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4668161250/)

[rodionx]

Didn't they just pave Bank last year when they redid the whole street between Somerset and the Queensway? Odd. They've been working on Lyon as well, which really does need it.

As for the tree question above, the city has a tree guy you can talk to if you want further details. I consulted him a couple of years ago when I was planning to plant a tree in my front yard, and wanted to know what could put up with road salt and all the other nasty stuff downtown trees put up with. His title might have been chief arborist or something like that. Nice guy. Knows his street trees.

[O-Town Hockey]

Didn't they just pave Bank last year when they redid the whole street between Somerset and the Queensway? Odd. They've been working on Lyon as well, which really does need it.

As for the tree question above, the city has a tree guy you can talk to if you want further details. I consulted him a couple of years ago when I was planning to plant a tree in my front yard, and wanted to know what could put up with road salt and all the other nasty stuff downtown trees put up with. His title might have been chief arborist or something like that. Nice guy. Knows his street trees.

They did pave from Somerset to the 417 last year but, just like they did North of Somerset, they left the last layer of asphault for the next year. I think that is a way to let things settle before the final 'coat' possibly?

[Davis137]

If they were smart, they would have more roadways that are a hybrid composite of concrete, asphalt, and either rubber or fibreglass. This is a lot less prone to the effects of frost, and hold up better to heavy vehicles driving over it a lot longer.

I was thinking of this, as far too often, I see asphault get laid too thinly...

[Dado]

Well they could add asbestos to the asphalt, since the fibres will give the asphalt the properties needed to counter freeze-thaw cycles...

[Richard Eade]

If they were smart, they would have more roadways that are a hybrid composite of concrete, asphalt, and either rubber or fibreglass. This is a lot less prone to the effects of frost, and hold up better to heavy vehicles driving over it a lot longer.

I was thinking of this, as far too often, I see asphault get laid too thinly...
It seems to me that it is not so much the thickness of the asphalt but rather how it is laid that causes most of the problems. Indeed, asphalt, if of the right composition and applied correctly, can be laid in quite a thin layer. It appears that a lot of the asphalt is being 'stretched' too much, causing small cracks; which of course become larger cracks which in short order result in chunks of the overlay breaking out. Alas, 'stretching' the asphalt means less material used for maximized profit for the contractor so the practice is likely to continue until the City actually starts to make the contractor responsible for the finished product's durability. Contractors would rather do the job right once than have to come back and replace a bad job at their own cost.

[Uhuniau]

Well they could add asbestos to the asphalt, since the fibres will give the asphalt the properties needed to counter freeze-thaw cycles...

We want MORE asbestos!

[c_speed3108]

Didn't they just pave Bank last year when they redid the whole street between Somerset and the Queensway? Odd. They've been working on Lyon as well, which really does need it.

As for the tree question above, the city has a tree guy you can talk to if you want further details. I consulted him a couple of years ago when I was planning to plant a tree in my front yard, and wanted to know what could put up with road salt and all the other nasty stuff downtown trees put up with. His title might have been chief arborist or something like that. Nice guy. Knows his street trees.


The city had never put the top finish layer on Bank Street. I am not sure why they waited..maybe something to do with seasons, but there had been little temporary ramps at all the crosswalks.

I see the question was already answered....sorry for the duplication.

[rakerman]

The artistic bike racks are back

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4717388217_51eee0e98d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakerman/4717388217/)

Rumour is they were rusting and had to be replaced?