Request for an exemption to the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 743, Use of Streets and Sidewalks, as part of the Streetscape Improvements in Ossington Business Improvement Area - by Councillor Joe Cressy, seconded by Councillor Mike Layton

The artwork includes two pieces consisting of an arch that was designed by Forest and Field Landscape Architecture and an art panel that was created by Indigenous Artist Philip Cote. The arch will be 4 metres in length, setback 3.4 metres from the curb on Foxley Street. It will be constructed with curved steel with rounded edges and sand-blasted to ensure a smooth finish. It will be painted in yellow (underside) and orange (topside). The art panel which is located behind the arch, and parallel with the building face and is setback 1 metre from the building. It will be constructed of three (3), 10 millimetres thick steel panels to be painted orange on all sides to match the arch with its centre to be hand-painted by the artist. An epoxy clear coat sealant will be applied over the finished artwork. The Ossington Business Improvement Area has been working in partnership with the City, through the Business Improvement Area Office to construct two new public spaces that include public art, landscaping, and seating on the side street flankages including south-west side of Foxley Avenue and on the north-west side of Argyle Street in the Ossington Business Improvement Area. This project implements the Business Improvement Area's vision to create new public spaces that are truly special and offer a sense of and celebration of history and heritage. The Business Improvement Area will create a variety of destinations to promote economic growth and stability, branding, sustainability, and slower vehicular traffic. The Right-of-Way/Construction permit application includes the engineer-stamped drawings that show public art as two pieces - an arch that was designed by Forest and Field Landscape Architecture and an art panel that was created by Indigenous Artist Philip Cote. The arch has been engineered-designed as a structure, including snow loads and live loads considerations. The arch will have deep grade-beam footing composed of the re-enforced concrete which will be further supported by 5 angled helical piles, with a depth of 5.0 metres below the concrete grade-beam to a depth of 6.5 metres. The reinforced concrete grade-beam is 1.2 metres deep and set 0.3 metres below finished grade to allow for a consistent pavement surface for a total depth of about 1.5 metres below grade. This could be raised to 1.2 metres, but the top of the grade-beam would be exposed to create tripping hazards around the anchors, and it is preferred that the area be flush at grade for safety purposes. The footings below reflect the potential forces applied above to maintain its structural integrity. Philip Cote's art panel, called 'the Thunderbird,' is a simple vertical assembly of three sheets of steel on a base plate that is surface mounted into a reinforced curb that is flush with the adjacent sidewalk. The reinforced concrete curb sits about 0.45 metres below grade. The Business Improvement Area will maintain the new public spaces, including the Arch and the Art Panel as part of the improvements.