Jonathan Heath

To come full circle on my suggested innovations let’s get back to the Bloor Viaduct. Next year we celebrate it’s 100th anniversary. This, is our gold standard. When weighing our options for infrastructure, we have to ask ourselves what R.C. Harris would say. Now what is remarkable the project was his foresight. He pushed city council to ensure that the bridge would be built with the capability of carrying trains underneath the road. The city balked at the additional cost of b...uilding the lower deck to carry heavy rail, but R.C. Harris got his way and had it incorporated into the plans. When the bridge opened in 1919, the Bloor Danforth Subway line was 47 years away from being opened. His forward thinking saved the city millions of dollars in retrofits. This has to be the way we approach any infrastructure projects going forward. Not what is the cheapest now, but what will be the cheapest long term. #futureproof #futureproofing #heathforcouncil #topoli #toronto See more

I swear I am not obsessed with garbage. These past few posts make it seem like it is all I think of but that isn't entirely true. John Tavares is a Maple Leaf. That takes up some thoughts too. Buuuuut back to business. Once again the business of garbage. This product is similar to @feedtheorca but for the household. Instead of turning food waste into water it converts it into a loose fertilizer. Now while they don't recommend smothering your plants with the resulting fertilizer this is a work in progress. If Whirlpool can get the energy consumption down and the fertilizer to be more stable and usable, products like this should be required for all new builds. Every household, lunchroom and food court can eliminate food waste. https://www.smithsonianmag.com//can-trash-can-turn-food-w/ #heathforcouncil #Toronto #futureproof #TOpoli

https://vimeo.com/104292842 Following up on my Envac dreams let's move to a smaller, easier change. If we want to make a lasting difference let’s look at ways to encourage kids to properly use garbage bins. Around the world there are innovative playful garbage bins that make throwing out your trash fun. While this Tetris bin is fun for all ages why not make some designed for children. Fun interactive garbage cans in schools and playgrounds can form a good habit they will carr...y for life. Imagine a garbage can that resembles Oscar The Grouch. Every time they throw trash in they hear him gobble it up and thank them. Design specific ones for food waste, recycling and garbage. Make it fun and I am sure you won't see them littering. If you like the Tetris bin look at these others. https://www.oddee.com/item_99512.aspx #heathforcouncil #Toronto #TOpoli #futureproof See more

First up is something as a child I had the idea for. Looking back now my idea wasn’t practical, but was the start of something. In the fall I always remember my dad pushing all the leaves off sewer grates so the street wouldn’t flood during heavy rain. This had me thinking how wonderful it would be to have a garbage shoot right next to the sewer. No more overflowing garbage cans, just a hole in the sidewalk to drop our garbage in to be carried away by conveyor belts. As an ad...ult I know that is essentially setting up booby traps on the sidewalk for people to fall into. Not a good idea right. But hey, if we jump over the Atlantic and swing by Sweden they have something similar that isn’t a hazard. It is actually an incredible company providing modern garbage removal since 1961! Envac using pneumatic tubes underground to take garbage from receptacles to a central location up to 7KM away! I will paint a picture using Moss Park as my basis since it is practically my backyard. In the park and along the streets around the park there are a total of 19 garbage and recycling bins. These bins get knocked over by people, racoons and even sometimes just the wind. When they are emptied a garbage truck needs to drive around to pick them up. Now replace those with Envac and the system automatically empties into dumpsters that could be beside the community centre. A big dumpster won’t need to be picked up as often. You know what goes away when there isn’t garbage sitting out? Rodents. With no bins full of half eaten food our parks would be cleaner. https://vimeo.com/121141402? See more

One of Toronto’s biggest flaws has to be our planning process. We ask for expert opinion then ignore it and do as we want. Too frequently we opt for the option that gives us instant gratification. Not the option that future generations will applaud us doing. A favourite quote of mine is Not every step needs to be a big one, it just has to be in the right direction. Next time instead of flinching at a project that could be pricey and a long process, we should consider how it can affect us 50 years from now. The next few posts I will introduce ideas from around the world that could be implemented here slowly over time.

For more outside of the box thinking here is a proposed Cable Car over the Don Valley. I was fortunate enough to attend one of the public consultations they held two years ago and was incredibly impressed by their ambition. This is a unique venture that would benefit visitors of Evergreen Brickworks that don’t drive. I grew up in this area and getting down there for me involved jaywalking across Bayview to then walk alongside it. Obviously not ideal. Since that time Evergreen... has footed the bill for a shuttle bus to pick people up from Broadview station and ferry them down. As a not for profit spending almost a quarter of a million dollars a year on this seems like a waste. Spearheaded by Steven Dale a Toronto resident who showed such incredible passion for this project is quietly working behind the scenes to bring this beautiful piece of infrastructure to fruition. http://donvalleycablecar.com/ #Heathforcouncil See more