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Brandon University 18th Street Hedge to be Removed

Brandon University 18th Street Hedge to be Removed

plus zero
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plus zero
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gone
8/15/2017 at 12:53 PM

I think it will look better without the hedge and they should have a petition for those people that want it all removed.

They should compare the image with and without or look at other university that is similar. If I remember Manitoba University in Winnipeg has none and looks better.
PrimeConvoy

Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 561

PrimeConvoy
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 561

pics
8/15/2017 at 1:27 PM

I've added a couple of pictures of Canadian universities. Proof that you don't need hedges to have a beautiful and iconic campus
Getty
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1536

Getty
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1536

pathetic
8/15/2017 at 6:44 PM

1500 people sign and they consider not removing the hedge.

WOW if only more important things in Brandon can be like that this city would grow.
Getty
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1536

Getty
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1536

bad
8/15/2017 at 7:06 PM

To be honest. That picture in the petition is quite saddening. If you show that to a random person in another city, they'll prob call it a residential building.

We need to show off the building to everyone.. Not hide it.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Hedge
8/15/2017 at 8:04 PM

I've watched this debate with interest. It sounds like there are a lot of folks with a lot of passion for the topic that's amounted to a lot of I imagine unexpected attention for the University. I've avoided getting into it myself because really in the big picture my life would be identical if it stays or if it goes, except for maybe a little snow they might catch from blizzards and keep off of 18th st? If it goes I can pledge that I've planted almost enough trees and bushes this year to make up for what would be lost

That said a few random thoughts, take for whatever they are or aren't worth....

- we're talking a hedge that's maybe 4(?) feet tall. This isn't a privacy hedge, if that's what they were going for I'm thinking they would've found a way to plant something like this:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.pinterest.com/amp/pin/58335757646143553/
- it isn't all hedge the entire stretch. There's a large open area in the middle with a garden/bed and plain views of Clark Hall in all of its historic glory. To my non-professional landscaping eye that break in front of Clark says "open." If looking to further communicate openness maybe it's as simple as throwing up some sort of arch/pergola type of structure with a few hundred dollars worth of lumber, training a vine over it and calling it a day?
- on the other hand, we live in a part of the world where bushes have no foliage for half of the year... in this case ironically the half of the year that includes the school year

I don't have the whole story and I'm sure the university will make the right call based on what's right when considering all factors. At this point though it seems that enough folks are dug in on the "keep it" side that there's probably an opportunity to leave it and show that they listen to the public when so many people take so much interest in the school.
Trevor B

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8881

Trevor B
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8881

Public Open Houses
8/15/2017 at 8:36 PM

Where was the interest when BU had 2 Public Open House's? The Master Plan has been publicly available for quite some time now.

There's been many similar occasions where at the last moment people are shocked at the plans that were publicly available for quite sometime, Riverbank Discovery Centre and Shoppers Mall are the recent ones.
Trevor B

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8881

Trevor B
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8881

It's
8/15/2017 at 8:46 PM

also possible that in those Open Houses and other consultations, the consensus was for the hedge removal. Students and faculty we invited to write their concerns about the current BU layout during the consultations. It's quite possible that many felt the hedge needed to be removed.
PiEyedSquire
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 51

PiEyedSquire
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 51

re: Sidewalk is better around hedge
8/16/2017 at 2:52 AM

I think of plants as sort of a buffer: I noted that the sideway infrastructure is better around the hedge.

On either side of the hedge row the sidewalk buckles and looks degraded. I wonder if it is because all there is a set of trees that don't have competition from the hedge row. The hedge might slow water infiltration and prevent erosive cracking or subsidance. I would say from an infrastructure point of view that hedges are preferable to trees.

Ascetically, it would be good to see other amendments to the campus. It's not the hedge that's the problem, but the cold war concrete architecture that fails to tie old to new. A few minor tweaks to the concrete fascade: I think you might have a campus more inviting.

On the hedge issue, I think the hedge is an asset: I would say that they would profit to look at plants as part of the civic infrastructure.

As a botany major, I am biased in favor of hedge rows. But I know they are a lot of work from having to trim many a green "monster".
Whaz up
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1070

Whaz up
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1070

Yearly Trimming
8/16/2017 at 6:40 AM

At a 3ft height might keep eveyone happy. To me it gives the grounds a sense of character.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Hedge
5/17/2018 at 1:41 PM

I see the hedge has been cut down quite aggressively (pic added). I wasn’t clear what the end response was to feedback on this topic last year to know if this was just an aggressive prune to setup the hedge for branch renewal or if this is the beginning of the end?
Simonwalcal
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 839

Simonwalcal
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 839

...
5/17/2018 at 1:55 PM

Looks better without it, in my opinion.
JoBeth

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1310

JoBeth
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1310

Hedge
5/17/2018 at 2:47 PM

There was an article about it a couple of weeks ago that they were going to just trim it down for cleanup, if I'm not mistaken. Looks good.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Hedge
5/17/2018 at 3:26 PM

Looks like you're right.... trimmed back to allow for cleanup, to allow it to grow back fresher and greener and to setup for better future maintenance. Aim is to keep it at about 3 ft in height. No plans for removal!

Edited by Adam, 2018-05-17 15:39:08