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There is a tender out on the Bid Portal for the City for consulting services (groan, I know) but hold the booing....these services are to support an in depth review of all contracted out maintenance services within the Transportation Dept.

This has potential.

www.toronto.ca

Toronto Bids Portal

Suppliers looking to do business with the City are encouraged to register on the City’s procurement portal or to update their business profile on SAP Ariba, specifically their Canadian, Canadian Subsidiary or Non-American business status.
www.toronto.ca www.toronto.ca

From the above:

1747792422267.png
 
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I referenced this idea from @AlexBozikovic previously in this thread, a great idea! From his LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly… | Alex Bozikovic

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly, starting with placemaking – tables and chairs, awnings, coffee kiosks – and rapidly begin capital...
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com

Screenshot 2025-05-26 at 7.04.54 PM.png
 
I wonder whether it would make sense to try to bootstrap a standardized paver system in Ontario, similar to what is used in the Netherlands. We might struggle to use it for roadways, but for sidewalks it seems like a better solution for utility cuts. It's a shame to spend money on concrete knowing that it will need to be cut in a few years, and patched (poorly) with asphalt.

I think one of the barriers to their adoption in Ontario is a lack of standardization, leading to each municipality developing their own bespoke palette of pavers, potentially even for each project, rather than achieving scale with the production of a catalogue of standardized components.

Fully acknowledging that asphalt will need to remain for high speed/high traffic roads.

 
kev1n1m said:
I referenced this idea from @AlexBozikovic previously in this thread, a great idea! From his LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly… | Alex Bozikovic

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly, starting with placemaking – tables and chairs, awnings, coffee kiosks – and rapidly begin capital...
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com

View attachment 654115
Click to expand...

Yes this is an excellent idea. You don’t need to fix the entire city which would be impossible.
 
I've noticed tables and chairs set up in the main area of St. James Park. And I've noticed a line of Muskoka chairs set up next to George Brown on George. Slowly but surely.
 
@AlexBozikovic's great column today related to the thread:

www.theglobeandmail.com

Toronto’s public spaces need results – not more plans

Mayor Olivia Chow announced new measures to make it easier to get to the city’s islands. But meaningful change is still a long way off
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

(I swear I'm not stalking you Alex)

I really hope that with a new Chief Planner and momentum towards SOGR that we can start to make progress on these things.

I really wish the city website had a project page and status report for projects like what Alex is talking about: The new Ferry Terminal. The completion of NPS renovations. Percentage complete, current focus, expected completion date. Anything that has capital funds allocated needs to have accountability and show progress to the funders (us).

Sorrry, a little broader than potholes and lawn care, but I still think relevant to this thread.
 
kev1n1m said:
@AlexBozikovic's great column today related to the thread:

www.theglobeandmail.com

Toronto’s public spaces need results – not more plans

Mayor Olivia Chow announced new measures to make it easier to get to the city’s islands. But meaningful change is still a long way off
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

(I swear I'm not stalking you Alex)

I really hope that with a new Chief Planner and momentum towards SOGR that we can start to make progress on these things.

I really wish the city website had a project page and status report for projects like what Alex is talking about: The new Ferry Terminal. The completion of NPS renovations. Percentage complete, current focus, expected completion date. Anything that has capital funds allocated needs to have accountability and show progress to the funders (us).

Sorrry, a little broader than potholes and lawn care, but I still think relevant to this thread.
Click to expand...

The next municipal (and mayoral) election will be in Fall 2026. Given procurement speed (nevermind implementation/construction) - there won't be much chance to demonstration much by the way of accountability.

Oh and speaking of accountability:

nowtoronto.com

‘They’re disgusting,’ Torontonians blast city for broken and overflowing garbage bins, councillor says contracts aren't working - NOW Toronto

A city councillor is urging the city to throw away its contracts with Astral Media after concerns about poorly maintained garbage bins.
nowtoronto.com nowtoronto.com

Gives new meaning to the word "trash" bins.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
The next municipal (and mayoral) election will be in Fall 2026. Given procurement speed (nevermind implementation/construction) - there won't be much chance to demonstration much by the way of accountability.

AoD
Click to expand...

There is certainly limited room to get substantive projects to completion. But some small, but smart things could be done quickly.

HTO Park could see, a couple of willow trees (Claude's favourite) in the sand/beach area.

Colourful Muskoka Chairs could be added to select parks, they can go write on grass, they don't have to have a concrete base.

College Park could get that north-west corner fixed, the entire project (assuming we went w/the idea I drew up a while ago) is not 2 days worth of detailed design work, the City has in-house and contract crews capable of delivering it (based paved path, a couple of planting beds, some bench bases etc.) in a week; with another week for re-sodding the balance, and finishing touches.

Much more is needed, but much can be done swiftly with the political will.

***

On some of the slightly larger items, just approve additional washrooms and re-fits of existing ones for year-round use, in the 2026 capital budget. Pre-approve the spending in fall 2025, allowing tenders to go out in January, and construction to start by May.

A token..........so to speak, add washrooms to 4 TTC Stations by end of 2026, add washrooms to 10 Parks, and get 20 more re-fit for year-round use. Very achievable, and everything could be underway, and some of it complete by the election.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
The next municipal (and mayoral) election will be in Fall 2026. Given procurement speed (nevermind implementation/construction) - there won't be much chance to demonstration much by the way of accountability.

Oh and speaking of accountability:

nowtoronto.com

‘They’re disgusting,’ Torontonians blast city for broken and overflowing garbage bins, councillor says contracts aren't working - NOW Toronto

A city councillor is urging the city to throw away its contracts with Astral Media after concerns about poorly maintained garbage bins.
nowtoronto.com nowtoronto.com

Gives new meaning to the word "trash" bins.

AoD
Click to expand...
There are actually two bodies responsible for garbage cans.

The City are responsible for installing them (Transportation) and emptying them (Waste Management).

Astral are responsible for maintaining them.

In my limited experience, Astral are actually quite speedy in making repairs IF you report to their hotline.
Furniture Maintenance
Telephone: 1-866-827-8725
Email: quality@astral.com
 
kev1n1m said:
I referenced this idea from @AlexBozikovic previously in this thread, a great idea! From his LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly… | Alex Bozikovic

Modest proposal: Toronto should choose its most important places - those most visited or most symbolically important – and fix them. Focus on specific places. Intervene immediately and rapidly, starting with placemaking – tables and chairs, awnings, coffee kiosks – and rapidly begin capital...
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com

View attachment 654115
Click to expand...

That seems to be the Montreal approach, and the public spaces that matter most from a civic and cultural standpoint in that city tend to be designed and maintained to a high standard that makes the city very enjoyable to visit over and over again. Locals obviously enjoy the spaces and the economic benefits of people visiting. I also believe that an excellent public realm, including one that's well maintained, creates a positive psychological effect in people and encourages them to enjoy themselves and spend money.

I'd also add Bay Street in the Financial District to the list that Alex suggested. It's one of the country's most famous streets and the location of some of the city's best architecture. It's home to many important employers and institutions of national importance. Yet when you walk it, it feels like this cold utilitarian street with concrete sidewalks (except for a patchwork of areas that were upgraded by the adjacent property owners without a unifying style), little or no greenery, rusty and crooked street light poles, ugly overhead wires, and patched pavements. It doesn't feel special at all as a public space despite its importance to the country. That's all the case despite the incredible amount in taxes that the owners of buildings on that street pay.

We need to do better in terms of public realm maintenance. Busy areas downtown should never have overflowing garbage bins during times of peak usage, which is often on summer weekends. Also, the city should challenge all of their maintenance workers to be reporting a certain number of issues they see on the streets each day, anything from damaged signs to litter to broken pavements. Have a quota. It often seems as if the city ignores a lot of issues unless someone reports them to 311. If someone complains, then great. But even they don't, the city's workers should have a sense of pride and ownership to get everything fixed quickly and efficiently.
 
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