Junction Triangle

Photo by Martin Reis, in the Junction Triangle Flickr Pool

Sometime during the night of August 16-17, the brand new mural under the Wallace Ave. Footbridge was severely vandalized. It's not the first time that this mural was tagged, including while it was still a work in progress. Artist Richard Mongiat has fixed it each time.

Personally, as much as I actually enjoy good street art and graffiti, simple vandalism of other peoples' work is extremely disrespectful. And it makes me enjoy other street art less.

MX Air Station

This evening, a local resident witnessed someone digging up and stealing plants from the West Toronto Railpath. I received the following email and photos that describe what happened:

Railpath plant thief

I was cycling under the Wallace Avenue bridge about 8 p.m. on Thursday evening. As I cycled through the plaza underneath the bridge I noticed a man digging in the flower bed close to Wallace Avenue where tall white daisies are growing.

I thought at first he was a volunteer planting flowers and kept cycling. My three year old son made a fuss about the rail mural as we cycled south on the Railpath and we ended up turning around and returning to the plaza underneath the bridge. That's when I noticed this man in his late 20's/early 30's with dark hair potting three plants and walking away. I confronted him about why he was taking the plants. He said they were wild flowers and they would grow back. I told him they were planted just recently and he was a thief. He made a fast exit up the stairs of the Wallace bridge as I chastised him. I took two pictures with my iPhone, but could not chase him down because I had my two kids with me on the bike.

Two men under the bridge witnessed the incident and said nothing. Two young women, possibly students, walking up the stairs saw the confrontation, but said nothing.

Despite the nominal value of the plants, I still found myself P.O. at the level of selfishness it takes to steal plants from a public park.

Junction Triangle Resident
June 23, 2011

Railpath plant thief: Closeup

I stumbled upon this scene yesterday while crossing the Wallace Ave. footbridge. A railway crane car was moving along the tracks picking up pieces of rail with an electromagnet and dropping them on the flatbed.

The video is seven and a half minutes of adrenaline soaked non-stop action, with plenty of drama and suspense too. OK, maybe not, but it's a snapshot of life along our changing railway tracks.

A short film by local artist Martin Helmut Reis, filmed yesterday morning on the Wallace Ave. Bridge.:

Canadian Snow Television - Episode Two from Tino on Vimeo.

Recoded Feb. 2, 2011 on the over a century old Wallace Avenue Foot Bridge. Music by Max Richter. Gentle snowfall and people going to work. Temperature -10C.

Just in time for the holidays, the Junction Triangle Rail Committee has been authorized to distribute a limited number of Christmas lights from the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche exhibit Rail of Light. These genuine art pieces were used by artist Richard Mongiat to create the dazzling chandeliers that were mounted on the Wallace Avenue bridge (http://railoflight.wordpress.com/how/) .

Now the spirit of that night can light your home for the holidays. For a minimum $10 donation to the Junction Triangle Rail Committee, you can own a string of lights from Richard Mongiat’s exhibit. These outdoor lights are 17 feet long, contain 50 LED lights and consume a modest two and a half watts. The lights are available in white, blue or red.

This offer won’t last forever. Quantities are limited. Maybe people in Roncesvalles and the Junction buy their outdoor holiday lights at discount stores, but in the Junction Triangle we’re above that. Be the envy of your friends in Bloordale when you tell them you are decorating your home for the holidays with art.

If you would like to take advantage of this special offer (and help a really good cause), drop us a line at rail@junctiontriangle.ca with your name and telephone number and we’ll help you show Santa your artsy side.

Just a word of thanks from all of us (Richard, Jeff, Kristen, Irmina and Kevin) at the Rail of Light exhibit at the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche on Saturday. It was a first for many of us and I’m sure it has been some time since the Wallace Avenue bridge attracted so many visitors.

We want to thank everyone who helped out, and they were many, and everyone who came out and supported an ambitious neighbourhood arts project. There were dozens of people who helped set-up and take down the exhibit and still others who staffed the event during the night. Rail of Light could not have happened without the support of the City of Toronto, especially the folks at Clean and Beautiful, and our very generous sponsors at Castlepoint Realty Partners and Realtors for Electric Rail.

Project info and more pictures at www.railoflight.ca

Rail of Light exhibit during Nuit Blanche under the Wallace Ave. Footbridge.

Photo by Vic Gedris, 2010-10-03.

The Rail of Light exhibit during Nuit Blanche on the Wallace Ave. Footbridge, as seen from the Railpath.

Visitors enjoying the Rail of Light exhibit during Nuit Blanche on the Wallace Ave. Footbridge.

Photo by Bruce Ward, 2010-10-03.