Spring Garden Streetscape

[coastalkid]

I walk on Spring Garden Road every day, and I find the design a bit disappointing to be honest. I think it looks much nicer than it used to, and the removal of the power lines is great, but I don't find it a whole lot more functional as a pedestrian.

One of the main challenges with Spring garden was the congestion of pedestrians during most times of day - which was why I was excited when I heard they were widening the sidewalks. However, while they've widened the sidewalks, a good chunk of the sidewalk all the way down the street is now occupied up by bulky planters and seating (a little seating would be nice but I do think they went overboard with the number of benches and chairs -aside from parades or events, they are rarely in use). The result is that the part of the sidewalk where people are walking doesn't feel any wider or less congested than before.

In essence, having lived through it, I don't think the result was worth the year or so of heavy disruption, in the way that the Argyle St project turned out to be.