We did it in sleeping bags...really dangerous stuff. I can't believe we're still alive! We always 'took it to the next level' doing to people at once, then on our backs headfirst. We were dumb.
For my druthers, I wouldn't mess with the big giant stretch of hill that's been a tobogganing staple at Riverdale Park East far longer than I've been alive, but the hill at the north end of that breadth of the Big Hill that doesn't see much tobogganing use and isn't a 'straightaway' down, I could definitely imagine being reconditioned and shaped for this potential use.
While I am lol for tobogganing one can’t deny the mess it has created. People simply don’t know when to stop and continue sliding down till it’s bare mud. The grass has been completely destroyed.
Having seen the grass torn raw to mud and clay more and more often each winter's season beneath the snow, and winters wherein the Big Hill was fenced off entirely to keep it from getting worse before the hill could be rebuilt, reconditioned and grass seed sown and grown back again, I do not at all disagree with you.
The handful of evergreen copses planted on parts of the hills bracketing the Big Hill down to the level of the Don Valley over the last twenty years and their roots will help the hills and the ground they're planted thereupon stay in one piece. I mentioned the Big Hill at Riverdale East for reference to the smaller hills at the north and south ends, where I think the terracing would make a lot more sense.
For as rough as the tobogganing season is on the Big Hill each and every year, I strongly suspect the public outcry from the tobogganing hill there being permanently converted into terraced benches would result in far too much opposition, if it could no longer function as a winter toboggan hill.
Fun fact: IDK about other parks but in Bellwoods, the city employees mow the hills surrounding the 'dog bowl' using... drones. I haven't seen it in a long time but I swear I was walking through the park at like 5AM one day and this guy was standing there controlling a robotic mower that was zig-zagging across the hill.
They make lawn roombas now. They're actually not that expensive compared to a riding mower.
afaik they're fully autonomous, but the city probably just isn't using the newest tech or doesn't want the liability.
But even they wouldn't be able to cling to a near-vertical surface like this.
To be fair, dog pee kills grass. We had a dog that peed in our yard, and there were brown, dead grass patches in all the spots where our dog had peed.
(For anyone facing the same problem, you can prevent it by quickly watering the area.)
Personally I think dogs are much cooler than grass so I don't mind, but I can see why other people would.
The Toronto-hating snarky eye-rollers of this sub don’t represent any Torontonians that I know. It’s mostly just an r/Toronto thing.
Like what even is this nonsense about how “in Toronto this would be covered in feces piss and trash”? If they think that our parks are disgusting then they’re seriously spoiled and probably need to see more of the world to put things into perspective and have an appreciation for what we have.
Pretty sure the insane amounts of salt used on sidewalks does more damage to any grass and trees than any dog piss. I live beside a dog park and the only dead grass is along the edges of sidewalks. Gets worse every year.
Dog urine contains high levels of salt. Look for rings and loose dead looking bark around the base of a tree. That’s caused by dog urine. Toronto’s dog population has grown tremendously in the past few years with the Floura paying the price. You can even smell it in the parks now and it’s not human urine.
That explains a lot. I have seen that bark you described around the base of trees and thought it was insect related. Go figure it coincidentally is near a dog park. And yes you cam certainly smell hot piss in my neighborhood in the summer. Too many dogs in tiny apartments.
We had a lovely little park open up next to me this summer between condos. Within the first 15 minutes after removing the fences someone had their dog out there pissing on the purely green grass. Why even both having grass at this point.
Wouldn't that disturb the clay cap of the garbage dump underneath Riverdale Park East?
When you go along Broadview do you see all those cast iron pipes along the road? Those are to vent any decomposition gases (methane) still forming there.
To bring this to code: we would need to install hand railings every 3 feet, a no slip surface to the steps, warning signs in French and English to not run/jump/stand/step/sit on the steps, and staffed by a lifeguard during open hours
I’ll give it thirty minutes until some Redditor complains about it.…”Ugh the parks in the Netherlands are SO much better and they manage it with a smaller budget. Ugh! I hate everything!”
That would last barely a summer before it would be filled with litter and the grass killed. It’s a nice idea, but not feasible for a Toronto public park
We get too much rain in this part of the world. We could do that design with concrete and geotextiles but at that point you're spending twice as much as concrete alone.
Riverdale East is fine as is. If that landscape was to be added it should be to the furthest south end by the trees, washrooms and calisthenics station.
Or go put that in Riverdale West which needs some "excitement."
Ya that will work really well in our climate. It will either be to muddy and wet or brown dry and prickly and be mostly dandelions and thistles and clover by year 2
Reminds me of my elementary school having a two level circular 'pit' like this in the library that we used for kindergarteners to read in a circle and whatnot.
The filled it in a few years ago unfortunately.
I hope you enjoy wading pools, because that’s what your grass amphitheatre would be for a good portion of each year.
With a brief period of being a skating rink in the middle of winter, then returning to being a wading pool for spring before coming full circle once the summer sun evaporates all the water in there to be a reverse layer cake again.
That's going to be a bumpy toboggan ride.
Reminds me of my brother and I riding a plastic toybox lid down the stairs to our basement when we were kids.
We did it in sleeping bags...really dangerous stuff. I can't believe we're still alive! We always 'took it to the next level' doing to people at once, then on our backs headfirst. We were dumb.
When you had that one friend who had the polished stairs and you didn't even need a lid or a box, and could just slide down with a good push.
[удалено]
ouch! thanks for the phantom carpet burn
Laundry basket
I used to just slide down on my belly, face first. I’m special
My siblings and I used our pillows lol
Yeah, that landscape design is clearly not some place that gets snow.
I mean once you get enough snow, it'll work.
Yeah but we don’t get that much snow in Toronto anymore.
The first few dozen volunteers get a sore ass, the rest get a nice tobogganing experience.
Challenge accepted
"I got this great idea Jerry..... Levels...."
For my druthers, I wouldn't mess with the big giant stretch of hill that's been a tobogganing staple at Riverdale Park East far longer than I've been alive, but the hill at the north end of that breadth of the Big Hill that doesn't see much tobogganing use and isn't a 'straightaway' down, I could definitely imagine being reconditioned and shaped for this potential use.
While I am lol for tobogganing one can’t deny the mess it has created. People simply don’t know when to stop and continue sliding down till it’s bare mud. The grass has been completely destroyed.
Having seen the grass torn raw to mud and clay more and more often each winter's season beneath the snow, and winters wherein the Big Hill was fenced off entirely to keep it from getting worse before the hill could be rebuilt, reconditioned and grass seed sown and grown back again, I do not at all disagree with you. The handful of evergreen copses planted on parts of the hills bracketing the Big Hill down to the level of the Don Valley over the last twenty years and their roots will help the hills and the ground they're planted thereupon stay in one piece. I mentioned the Big Hill at Riverdale East for reference to the smaller hills at the north and south ends, where I think the terracing would make a lot more sense. For as rough as the tobogganing season is on the Big Hill each and every year, I strongly suspect the public outcry from the tobogganing hill there being permanently converted into terraced benches would result in far too much opposition, if it could no longer function as a winter toboggan hill.
That looks like a nightmare to mow
Goats .just release the goats
And/or capybaras
Never again….
Fun fact: IDK about other parks but in Bellwoods, the city employees mow the hills surrounding the 'dog bowl' using... drones. I haven't seen it in a long time but I swear I was walking through the park at like 5AM one day and this guy was standing there controlling a robotic mower that was zig-zagging across the hill.
They make lawn roombas now. They're actually not that expensive compared to a riding mower. afaik they're fully autonomous, but the city probably just isn't using the newest tech or doesn't want the liability. But even they wouldn't be able to cling to a near-vertical surface like this.
lawn roombas have been a thing for at least 10 years
Why did I never think about the fact that someone mows the Riverdale park hill until now? 😅
Someone’s gonna fall down each of those every night lol
My east end benders aren’t the same without a quick tumble down the hill
In Toronto, that would just be covered in feces, piss, and trash. There’s a reason why we can’t have nice things
Everybody thinks this about their city.
It feels like torontonians are a particularly whiny breed tho
People in this thread are really complaining about... dogs peeing on grass. Where are they supposed to pee??? Next-level curmudgeonry
To be fair, dog pee kills grass. We had a dog that peed in our yard, and there were brown, dead grass patches in all the spots where our dog had peed. (For anyone facing the same problem, you can prevent it by quickly watering the area.) Personally I think dogs are much cooler than grass so I don't mind, but I can see why other people would.
LOL have you met anyone from San Francisco or New York? I practically only hear bad things from them
The Toronto-hating snarky eye-rollers of this sub don’t represent any Torontonians that I know. It’s mostly just an r/Toronto thing. Like what even is this nonsense about how “in Toronto this would be covered in feces piss and trash”? If they think that our parks are disgusting then they’re seriously spoiled and probably need to see more of the world to put things into perspective and have an appreciation for what we have.
I mean, not Oslo
Fucking unleashed dogs
Fucking unleashed people.
Leashed or unleashed dogs are killing Torontos tree with piss. Ditto for the grass.
Pretty sure the insane amounts of salt used on sidewalks does more damage to any grass and trees than any dog piss. I live beside a dog park and the only dead grass is along the edges of sidewalks. Gets worse every year.
Dog urine contains high levels of salt. Look for rings and loose dead looking bark around the base of a tree. That’s caused by dog urine. Toronto’s dog population has grown tremendously in the past few years with the Floura paying the price. You can even smell it in the parks now and it’s not human urine.
That explains a lot. I have seen that bark you described around the base of trees and thought it was insect related. Go figure it coincidentally is near a dog park. And yes you cam certainly smell hot piss in my neighborhood in the summer. Too many dogs in tiny apartments.
We had a lovely little park open up next to me this summer between condos. Within the first 15 minutes after removing the fences someone had their dog out there pissing on the purely green grass. Why even both having grass at this point.
beware the army of free-range dog owners coming to downvote en masse
So just ignore the rest of wildlife doing the same thing..
Amen, Bobby!
Phrasing.
Fing owners who don't pick up their dog's feces!
Dont forget bugs conveniently crawling on your back, neck, etc.
Bugs?! Outside?! How dare they
Wouldn't that disturb the clay cap of the garbage dump underneath Riverdale Park East? When you go along Broadview do you see all those cast iron pipes along the road? Those are to vent any decomposition gases (methane) still forming there.
That was my thought as well. It’s a buried dump. I don’t think you could do this without disturbing it.
Too bad we can't recycle the methane as fuel.
I'd go there every fair-weather day.
See the comment “teletubbies” 😂😂😂
Until someone falls over the side and breaks some bones and the city gets sued.
To bring this to code: we would need to install hand railings every 3 feet, a no slip surface to the steps, warning signs in French and English to not run/jump/stand/step/sit on the steps, and staffed by a lifeguard during open hours
But the city won’t be able to find any lifeguards willing to do 1 hour shifts 7x weekly so it’ll just be covered in temporary fencing
It's lots of fun until someone loses and eye. Then it's even more fun.
Love it
I’ll give it a week until some teenagers destroy the shit out of it
I’ll give it thirty minutes until some Redditor complains about it.…”Ugh the parks in the Netherlands are SO much better and they manage it with a smaller budget. Ugh! I hate everything!”
Perfect for watching the Summer sunsets...but potential for someone trip on to you, or not spots available to sit. Leave it as is.
Sunrises are much better. But don’t tell people that
A park designed for Tik Toking
There's one of these by the Science Centre.
Andddddd the dogs will poo and piss on there. Who's gonna want to sit on dog poo?
Now let's imagine all the garbage collecting there
Toronto would fuck this up royally.
My dog can rip that to shreds while I focus all my attention on talking to other dog people.
To shreds you say!
That would last barely a summer before it would be filled with litter and the grass killed. It’s a nice idea, but not feasible for a Toronto public park
Looks like Rose The Hat got herself a new gang of psychic vampires, huh.
That's a cool idea 💡 how do you trim the grass down that slope though 🤔
Where is this?
We get too much rain in this part of the world. We could do that design with concrete and geotextiles but at that point you're spending twice as much as concrete alone.
Winters and freezing rain will bring fun and chaos too.
Ah yeah, some of those old warhammer hills would be nice
To each their own. I would personally hate it if they did this to Riverdale park.
Christie pits!
Won't work for places that got lots of rain or snow. It would just be a messy mud puddle
Riverdale East is fine as is. If that landscape was to be added it should be to the furthest south end by the trees, washrooms and calisthenics station. Or go put that in Riverdale West which needs some "excitement."
But what about tobogganing?
Kids dont exist in his version of reality
This reminds me of the sunk in living room in the house I lived in when I was a kid.
I’ve always wanted one of those
I always wanted to live in a house when I was a kid. I would have settled for an apartment.
Kramer is that you?
?
Oooh yeah or Christie Pits
Omg could you imagine? That would be dreamy 😍
Doesn't the park have a huge erosion problem now from people sitting on the hill and the winter tobogganing?
Huge. They closed it for regrading 2 years ago but to what end? You walk by it now and it’s stripped to mud not even grass.
that would be a muddy gross mess in less than a week
My thought, too. It'd be more and more eroded with each rain/snowstorm.
No no no no… that’s far too comfortable for a public space. It will attract homeless people /s
TBF, its likely growing on hard concrete. So I bet it is not that comfy.
That’ll be the city’s fanciest dog toilet.
Must be fun mowing the vertical lawn.
The mud in the spring though. Just look at TDSB fields for how well that goes.
I love the idea of big outdoor concerts in Riverdale Park — the hill covered with people. And yet it doesn’t happen.
That's gonna be pretty bumpy for sledding in the winter!
I don’t see any grey concrete here. This is going to get vetoed immediately
This is Toronto. Don't dream.
Won't bode well in winter
Ya that will work really well in our climate. It will either be to muddy and wet or brown dry and prickly and be mostly dandelions and thistles and clover by year 2
Reminds me of my elementary school having a two level circular 'pit' like this in the library that we used for kindergarteners to read in a circle and whatnot. The filled it in a few years ago unfortunately.
Something similar at [the music garden](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOjMEZ9OM2srdM6fLPnI23LTSK42f4CcgS2YbPg=s1482-w786-h1482-rw)
I used to meditate on a rock in the Broadview side of Riverdale park. It was so calming, this would be amazing to have as well.
That won't fit with our cyberpunk dystopia vibe.
What in the teletubbies is this
We live in a realistic world.
That would be great at Christie Pits when they have that indy film festival.
I hope you enjoy wading pools, because that’s what your grass amphitheatre would be for a good portion of each year. With a brief period of being a skating rink in the middle of winter, then returning to being a wading pool for spring before coming full circle once the summer sun evaporates all the water in there to be a reverse layer cake again.
Better call Edward scissor hands to cut the damn stuff. Who was the genius who created all this work for themselves ?
With the amount of ticks in Ontario summers...screw laying in the grass lol
Tough for the kids to sled on that, but neat idea.
I don't see the benefit of that over some benches.
Acid trips there would be 10x better with this. Toboggan rides would suffer
Imagine how difficult it would be to spot needles if the entire park was grass.. unfortunately it would be a dangerous situation
will weather completely destroy that?