Posts Tagged ‘dump truck’

a tale of two bridges

Posted: September 15, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings, transportation
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Traffic on Eastern Avenue near Broadview has faced construction and traffic delays over the past few months.   The slow downs are ongoing as work on the railway bridge progresses.  This work is because Metrolinx is adding tracks to make room for the new Ontario Line.  Like many parts of the city, there are many changes occurring in the area.

Demolition on the north side of Eastern, and poof,  gone, one large 5 storey Self Storage facility at 356 Eastern. Removed to make way for new tracks.   The beige house faces Lewis Street.

an orange bin sits in a vacant lot where a building has just been demolished

empty bucket of a front end loader sits on the ground beside a man on a ladder who is inspecting roof of building

… and now sitting gutted on the south side is another not old building (South side of Eastern Ave between Broadview and the railway tracks).

by a street construction zone, taller narrow building gutted, empty windows, brick on bottom, black cladding on top

South side of Eastern, from another angle.

empty group of buildings on south side of Eastern Ave., between Broadview and the railway tracks

West side approach to the Canadian National Railway bridge

orange and black traffic cones as well as black and orange signs with arrows directing traffic as Eastern Ave approaches railway bridge at McGee St., from west side of the bridge

west side of Canadian National Railway bridge on Eastern Ave

Along with the new railway line, Metrolinx is building what they are calling the East Harbour transit hub.  This involves a new Ontario Line station as well as a new GO station on the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO lines. Eventually, plans are to have TTC streetcars or LRT link here (it is directly south of Broadview and there is a plan to extend Broadview).

below: Construction along the railway line, south of Eastern Ave

construction site south of Eastern Ave., west of the train tracks, a man with a red shovel is clearing a now vacant lot

text graffiti in blue and white on the side of a railway bridge, water tower in the background

below: One side (the east side) of the railway tracks has been demolished.  Ultimately the whole bridge will be replaced but it is being done in stages to allow GO trains and VIA rail trains to continue running throughout the process.

bridge on eastern avenue with west side of railway track demolished

white folding chair sitting on sidewalk under railway overpass

A constant flow of dump trucks back and forth, in and out, of the construction site south of Eastern (on both sides of the railway tracks).  The 38 acre site that includes the old Lever Bros (Ponds, Sunlight etc) soap factory is being redeveloped at the same time – it extends south to Lakeshore and west to the Don River.

red dump trucks entering and exiting a construction site

Looking west on Eastern Ave, back towards downtown.

looking west on Eastern Ave., back towards railway bridge that is half demolished, traffic on the streets

green and white double decker go train on tracks, passing by a construction site

red dump truck being filled up with dirt

405 Eastern Ave, immediately east of the railway bridge, is also under construction.  It has nothing to do with transportation as it is a new Enbridge building.   A large 3 storey building with both offices and industrial (computers?) will probably be built here.

new concrete building being constructed on eastern ave

Makes sense, gas pipelines on site.

behind a chainlink fence, no trespassing sign, enbridge property

CCTV sign warning, on a chainlink fence, natural gas pipeline

Just north of Eastern Ave, the railway tracks cross Queen St East., crossing over a bridge of the same style and vintage.   Once upon a time this was a level crossing with a railway station on the northwest corner, the Riverdale station on the Grand Trunk Railway.  This is soon to be the location of the Riverside Leslieville station on the not yet built Ontario Line.

plaque describing history of riverdale railway station beside a concrete wall, with drawing of street map of part of toronto

So far the bridge is still intact but it too will be completely changed by the time Metrolinx is finished.  The station itself will be on the bridge (if their drawings & plans are to be believed).

Here there will be 6 tracks – 4 for GO Transit and 2 for the Ontario Line.

Raptors take over the city

Posted: June 17, 2019 in events, people
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Today was the day of the parade to celebrate the Raptors NBA Championship win.  Today was the day that downtown was immobilized.  Like many of the thousands (millions) of people, I couldn’t get anywhere near the parade.   I also couldn’t get into Nathan Phillips Square,  the end point of the parade.  I am not sure I wanted to!  Too crowded.  Besides, walking around the periphery of Nathan Phillips Square still gave me a plethora of opportunities to take lots of pictures of people out celebrating.

a man in white t shirt and black shorts stands on top of a bus shelter, he has just removed the cork from a bottle of champagne, and the champagne has begun to flow from the bottle

Raptors fans, parade day, a group of kids with a hand made sign that says we the champs with pasted on pictures of raptors symbols

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, , a woman wearing a cardboard red and white crown that says King of the north on it, she's walking through a crowd

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto,three kids on top of a police car, watching the Raptors parade

below: Bay Street was one of the many streets that were closed.  Two large screens showed footage of the parade as it progressed.  In this photo, you can see a sea of red at the Prince’s gates, the entrance to the Exhibition grounds.

street closed, lots of people, large video screen

below: A larger picture of the screen.  This photo was taken at 10:49 a.m.   The parade was supposed to start at 10 a.m.  I am not sure what time it arrived at Nathan Phillips Square, I was already long gone by the time it did.

a large video screen shows progress of a parade, crowds watching it

Raptors championship parade day, , young men sitting on the fence in front of Osgoode Hall

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a woman poses in front of a truck decorated with Raptors players pictures.

Raptors fans, parade day, sitting on street and sidewalk, watching a video screen showing the parade as it makes its way towards Nathan Philips Square

a man in a we the north t shirt carries a we the north flag

a man in black fedora andred jacket with raptors symbols all over it, and a t shirt that says Mayor of Jurassic Park, leans against a tw truck, head down, not smiling

people sitting on top of structures and buildings in front of city hall, Raptors fans celebrating

Raptors fans, parade day, leaning against the side of truck decorated with larger than life size pictures of Raptors players

Raptors championship parade day, , fans have filled the back of a dump truck and some are sitting on top of the cab, viewing the parade, one has a Canadian flag with We the north written on it in black

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, people milloing around, one young woman sits in front frowning and not looking very happy

raptors fans with we the north banner and canadian flag sitting on top of entrance to parking lot

a man in purple and white Raptors colours holds a we the north black and white flag across the back of his shoulder as he talks to people

Raptors championship parade day, , a young boy sits up high on the Osgoode Hall fence, beside a light, his father is close by

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a girl with red and white streamers on her head, dressed all in red, and holding a Canadian flag

Raptors championship parade day, , young men sitting on the fence in front of Osgoode Hall

raptors fans sitting on top of a parking garage entrance, by their feet is a yellow sign that says maximum clearance

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, people sitting on a concrete barrier

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a girl stands behind and leans on a yellow metal barricade

Raptors championship parade day, , some of the fans are watching from iside a bus shelter

Raptors fans, parade day, a man with a bottle of white wine, and a large potted palm plant, standing in front of a truck, a large red RAptors fly is being held behind him

Raptors championship parade day, , a father carries his son, a boy with curlyhair and black glasses

man wearing a black t shirt with 6 ix on the back, walking past a man in red basbeall cap and sunglasses, with black beard

Raptors fans, parade day, a man wedged between stone wall and bus shelter, as he tries to get higher over the heads of the crowd, a womn passes by

Raptors championship parade day, , boy on father's shoulders, Bay street, crowds

below: Red for Manchester United as well!

Raptors championship parade day, , women and men in the corwd

Raptors fans, parade day, three boys sitting, looking tired and bored, in Raptors T shirts and baseball hats

Raptors fans, parade day, muslim women in head scarves and one woman in long flowery dress

Raptors fans, parade day, two men sitting beside truck decorated with large than life pictures of Raptors players

Raptors fans, parade day, men leaning against a raingin beside city hall, with a wine bottle behind them

just a few transitions

Posted: April 12, 2019 in construction, locations
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a gold coloured weather vane with a rooster on it, bright blue sky in the background

Once again, it seems that no matter where in the city you go there will be construction.  There will be the demolition of single family homes to make way for condos or at the minimum, blocks of rowhouses.   The area around Yonge and Finch is no exception.

apartment building in the background, a street of single family dweelings in the foreground, early spring so no leaves on the trees, a few cars parked in driveways

I am not sure if it serves any purpose, perhaps it’s futile, but I’d like to think that documenting what we are removing is worthwhile.   The houses on Finch Avenue East like the one in this picture are small, but the lots on which they sit are large.

small white bungalow with brown roof, on large piece of land, car in driveway

That means that a developer can demolish four houses and turn around and build 17 townhouses in the same space.    That is what is happening near Finch and Willowdale.

three small white bungalows with windows and doors boarded up, small trees overgrown around them.

Although the properties were not fenced off, all access to the houses themselves was blocked, sigh.  It looked like a local garden centre was using the backyards of a couple of the houses.

side door of a white wood house with rickety porch and steps. three trees growing besie it, door is boarded up

below: View to a new development on the other side of Finch Avenue.  This is the type of development that the area is now zoned for.  A lot of these townhouses have been built in the last few years and I suspect that eventually they will replace all of the single family homes.

view looking down a driveway, two empty houses - one on each side of the driveway. Can see across the street to new townhouse development on the other side.

single family homes and large trees on Finch Ave

single family homes and large trees on Finch Ave

Between Willowdale Avenue and Yonge Street, there were a couple of other houses that are boarded up and empty. I am not sure what the plan is for them (there was no development proposal sign posted, instead there was a sign advertising the company that is providing the financing – for what?).

small bungalow with blue door, windows boarded up, large tree in front yard, apartment building behind,

The internet can be a wonderful thing.  In case you are interested, the development is the Ava Luxury Residence and it calls for heights and densities that are vastly over what is zoned for in the area.  For example, at 9 storeys it is 37 metres tall in an area zoned for 11 metres.  The plan was first filed in 2016 but because of the size of the development, it requires a zoning by-law amendment, official plan amendment, and site plan approval to effect the proposal – all which take time.   An OMB appeal pre-hearing was scheduled to occur a few days ago, with a hearing slated for June.  MM170085 is the OMB case number if you want to dive down that rabbit hole.

small bungalow with blue door, windows boarded up, large tree in front yard, sign in front yard advertising financing

This is 50 Finch East.  As you can see, there is a taller building on the other side of Kenneth Avenue.  Kenneth was to be the dividing line – keeping the higher buildings, and denser development, closer to Yonge Street.  I’m not sure what side of the development battle you’re on, but what’s the point of having a plan if the developers (with help from the OMB) keep disregarding it?

small bungalow on a corner lot, with windows and doors boarded up, larger apartment building behind.

As I walked back to my car, I chose to walk on a side street instead of on Finch.  As I turned a corner, I happened upon a house being demolished.  Fortuitous.  Serendipity.

a yellow digger loading rubble from a house demolition into a dump truck

It doesn’t take long to reduce a house to rubble and dust.  “Another one bites the dust” springs to mind.

close up of a digger demolishing a house

And so it goes.