Ironing out a problem with ode to city’s past
JACK LAKEY
When the horses cross the bridge, you should be able to see them at night.
But not all the horses on the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail are as lit up as they are supposed to be, making them blend into the darkened sky when they’re supposed to stand out.
People moseying along Yonge Street may have noticed the full-sized cutouts of 12 black horses that line the Beltline pedestrian bridge running above Yonge, south of Davisville Avenue.
A news release by the Midtown Yonge Business Improvement Area from last Oct. 30 says it partnered with the city to bring back the “Iron Horse sculpture,” noting an earlier version of the horses graced the bridge from 1994 to 1996.
“The Iron Horse is a direct reference to the historic significance of the bridge. Originally a trail for horses and buggies, railway tracks were laid along the bridge to accommodate steam engines.”
The news release went on to say that “the sculpture will be tastefully illuminated in order to maximize its visual impact.”
But that hasn’t worked out as well as the BIA envisioned. James Grace emailed to say “they have installed 12 horse silhouettes on the beltline bridge, (six on each side).
“This spring, LED solar lights were installed to illuminate the Iron Horses. I happened to be walking by when the crew had just finished. They said the lights would be on at night.
“I went by that night and the lights were on except for three of the horses on the south east section of the bridge. That was several weeks ago and I expected someone would notice and they would be fixed (but) as of earlier this week they are still out.”
Status: Jaclyn Carlisle, who deals with media for the parks department, emailed to say “I can confirm that we’ll have electricians out to have a look at the lights (on Wednesday). Please note, parks staff continue to prioritize critical and essential services in parks related to the city’s COVID-19 response and the maintenance and upkeep of key infrastructure. As such, non-critical repair work may take longer than expected to complete.
“The project is not yet complete. Additional materials are required to illuminate the remaining horses. COVID-19 has impacted supply chains for these materials and resulted in some delivery delays. We expect to complete the project within three to four weeks.”
What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email
or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter