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The City of Toronto's Parks, Forestry, and Recreation department is advocating a transformation of Edwards Gardens and the Toronto Botanical Garden on Lawrence Avenue East at Leslie Street through a master plan that outlines long-term environmental, physical, and program improvements for the site. Aimed at turning the park into a major destination, the 14 hectare site will also be subject to a Management Plan to guide the implementation and operations for the future.
The project vision as outlined by the City is to create an internationally recognized botanical garden within the City of Toronto, as guided by eight principles:
1) Celebrate a unique sense of place;
2) Contribute to a resilient ecosystem to enhance ecological services;
3) Improve accessibility;
4) Establish a culture of stewardship to reconnect with the land, exchange earth knowledge and demonstrate green infrastructure;
5) Improve operational functionality;
6) Improve amenities;
7) Improve facilities to expand programming, education, activities and ceremonies; and finally
8) Enhance visitor experience.
A series of public open houses began in the tail end of 2016, where feedback helped assist the direction of the initiative. The first public open house in early November 2016 discussed the initial findings the City's Parks, Forestry, and Recreation Department undertook, as well as an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on current issues in the site. The second public open house in late February drew feedback from the audience to a presentation offering alternate concepts. A third and final open house took place just three weeks ago, where the draft concept was presented.
With design work done by landscape architecture firm Forrec, the vision took about six months to craft, following the input received from the public meetings. The master plan encompasses over 12 hectares of land (or about 30 acres), aiming to emulate the experience at the renowned Botanical Gardens of Brooklyn and Montreal. A strong emphasis is being placed on accessibility, with the project aiming to make it easier for visitors to access different areas including the ravine system that bisects the site.
With a great opportunity to maximize the space, the newly revamped Garden will feature a one-kilometre path that will circle through the site, with multiple access points into the Garden. The Wilket Creek which runs through the site will be crossed by a 100-metre-long curving pedestrian bridge. The majority of west half of the Garden will be an arboretum, with trees and shrubs grown for both display and research. In the midst of the arboretum will be a space dedicated for community and family events, dubbed 'Celebration Place'.
Other west side features include a treehouse for children, where they can overlook the ravine and surrounding landscape, while programming for an enhanced teaching garden will allow visitors the chance to to become more educated about conservation. On the east side, the footprint of the existing parking lot will be decreased in size to provide more garden space, though a new 3-storey parking structure that will bring 138 spaces more spaces into use.
In the next step, anticipated this fall, the design will be finalized along with the management plan. The transformation may take up to ten years to complete before the Toronto has a major new destination.
We will be back with updates when new information becomes available. Want to share your thoughts on the new master plan? Feel free to leave a comment in the space provided below, or join in the ongoing conversation in our dedicated Forum thread.
