The Toronto Islands

[themarc]

Hi All!

Amazingly enough there doesn't appear to be a topic regarding discussion of the Island Park or the Island neighborhood(s).

I am a Director and Secretary of "Friends of Toronto Islands" and decided to install this thread into the list to promote discussion for the whole Island side of the harbor.

Please chime in with your comments, ideas and/or concerns.

Cheers!

themarc

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Hanlan's Point beach (north of the clothing optional area) needs to be cleaned and maintained! I'm totally cool with the clothing optional area but it's not my thing & never has been so I take my dog swimming north of that area & have for decades but in the past several years it looks like 10 garbage trucks dumped their loads offshore and it all washed up, not to mention all the dead birds. More picnic tables and garbage receptacles are needed too, like it used to be. I've tried once every year about mid to late June for about five perhaps six years now & end up having to turn around and take my dog back home. Cherry Beach is great but buses only run there on the weekends so I have to hope for a sunny Sat or Sun to take her swimming there.
Besides that minor complaint I love the Islands along with the ferry ride there & back. Every few years I walk or cycle through Centreville and around Centre Island + Ward's & Hanlan's, it's one of the great recreational spaces we have in the city. I especially enjoy that parts of Centre Island look like time has stood still, so many things are exactly as they were when I was a kid. Some may object to that, but I like it because it brings back so many warm memories of my dear grandmother taking me down every summer. There aren't many places left in the city that can do that!

 

[adma]

I especially enjoy that parts of Centre Island look like time has stood still, so many things are exactly as they were when I was a kid. Some may object to that, but I like it because it brings back so many warm memories of my dear grandmother taking me down every summer. There aren't many places left in the city that can do that!

I suppose some of the objection may be not because it's "dated", but the inverse: that it's the wrong time that has stood still (i.e. the 1960s, as opposed to the 1900s--esp. among those who still have a bone to pick with the Tommy Thompson-era clearcutting of the Island communities)

 

[themarc]

Hanlan's Point beach (north of the clothing optional area) needs to be cleaned and maintained! I'm totally cool with the clothing optional area but it's not my thing & never has been so I take my dog swimming north of that area & have for decades but in the past several years it looks like 10 garbage trucks dumped their loads offshore and it all washed up,

I often bbq at Hanlans Point on Sunday afternoons and by my count the "party beach" (its also well known as a cruise beach) attracts up to a couple thousand people on a weekend evening and tho its not my thing and I haven't checked it out I would imagine much of the garbage is left behind by partiers. The beach goers bring lots of booze and food and I mentioned the beach once to a city staffer attached to the park and they rolled their eyes. I'm betting the beach is a strain on the limited resources of parks personnel and not a plus as an asset to the island in general.

 

[themarc]

I suppose some of the objection may be not because it's "dated", but the inverse: that it's the wrong time that has stood still (i.e. the 1960s, as opposed to the 1900s--esp. among those who still have a bone to pick with the Tommy Thompson-era clearcutting of the Island communities)

I would agree. Friends of Toronto Islands (FOTI) is working with the parks department on a number of ideas - some of them capital projects - to bring the island back into relevance. We were able to have a grove of Cherry Trees donated at Centre Island and the walkway where they are located that leads to the TD Franklin Childrens Garden has been rebranded "Cherry Tree Lane". The trees actually blossomed this year but it happened early and very few people got to see them.

We are also trying to save the Island farm and hope to announce around that issue shortly.

We would love to hear more of your thoughts and ideas.

 

[DTowner]

Hi All!

Amazingly enough there doesn't appear to be a topic regarding discussion of the Island Park or the Island neighborhood(s).

I am a Director and Secretary of "Friends of Toronto Islands" and decided to install this thread into the list to promote discussion for the whole Island side of the harbor.

Please chime in with your comments, ideas and/or concerns.

Cheers!

themarc

I was just there yesterday (4 JUNE 2012) for volunteer day at work (we helped with gardening at a Seniors' community centre on Ward Island). It really is a different world out there. I hadn't been to the Islands since my late teens (I'm 40 now). I have only been to Centre Island once and once was enough, thank you! Lol. Too many children and families.

$7 to cross is a bit much, though. But, nothing in this city is free. Where does that money go?

(Neighbourhood; harbour. Sorry, I couldn't let it slide!) ;o)

 

[GraphicMatt]

We would love to hear more of your thoughts and ideas.

Interested in your perspective on an eastern-gap pedestrian/cycle bridge - would this face huge opposition from island residents? I'm seeing some momentum build for the idea, particularly as the Jack Layton honour has put more attention on the deplorable state of the ferry terminal.

 

[themarc]

Interested in your perspective on an eastern-gap pedestrian/cycle bridge - would this face huge opposition from island residents? I'm seeing some momentum build for the idea, particularly as the Jack Layton honour has put more attention on the deplorable state of the ferry terminal.

I in-boxed you - but access is a problem that has to be addressed in the near future.

 

[adma]

I would agree. Friends of Toronto Islands (FOTI) is working with the parks department on a number of ideas - some of them capital projects - to bring the island back into relevance. We were able to have a grove of Cherry Trees donated at Centre Island and the walkway where they are located that leads to the TD Franklin Childrens Garden has been rebranded "Cherry Tree Lane". The trees actually blossomed this year but it happened early and very few people got to see them.

We are also trying to save the Island farm and hope to announce around that issue shortly.

We would love to hear more of your thoughts and ideas.

Though I'd have to remind you: the so-called "wrong" time that's stood still has turned out kinda right in the end, in its way--a sort of 50s/60s Anglosphere park-idealism that may have originated in the post-WWII Festival-of-Britaining of Battersea Park in London...

 

[themarc]

Though I'd have to remind you: the so-called "wrong" time that's stood still has turned out kinda right in the end, in its way--a sort of 50s/60s Anglosphere park-idealism that may have originated in the post-WWII Festival-of-Britaining of Battersea Park in London...

I think in our case the derelict red brick concrete roofed snack bars that are not used anymore is a good demonstration of the direction everything went.

 

[adma]

Or as per my point, a diamond-in-the-rough opportunity, esp. now that 60s park stuff is deemed "cherishable"...

 

[themarc]

Or as per my point, a diamond-in-the-rough opportunity, esp. now that 60s park stuff is deemed "cherishable"...

The potential to make the island a "special place" is beyond comprehension...

 

[W. K. Lis]

City council approves Mayor Ford's proposal to rename ferry docks after Jack Layton

From this link:

City council approved Mayor Rob Ford's proposal to rename the Toronto Island Ferry Terminal to the "Jack Layton Ferry Terminal" in honour of late federal NDP leader and Toronto city councillor.

The motion passed 41-0, Wednesday.

"Jack sat next to me in council when I was first elected, and he taught me a lot about politics," Ford said in a release on May 31.

"Renaming the Toronto Island Ferry Terminal in memory of Jack is a fitting tribute. Not only did he represent waterfront communities during his career as an elected representative, but he was also a great supporter of the Island Public School and helped save Island residents' homes."

Layton's son, Councillor Mike Layton said it's a great honour to his father's memory.

"Some of my fondest childhood memories are taking the ferry to the island and spending time with my family" said Toronto City Councillor Mike Layton. "I thank Mayor Ford and Councillors McConnell, Fletcher, Kelly and Nunziata for suggesting such a suitable and great honour to my father's memory."

Council had to approve waiving the normal two-year waiting period to rename a city street or building.

Jack Layton died in August 2011 from cancer.

 

[Northern Light]

My wish list for the islands would start with nature.

Though I am all in favour of preserving the homes, beaches, and some picnic spaces to be sure, there is a lot of 'blank' land mowed for no obvious reason, which is doubtless difficult to maintain to a high standard in a manicured form, and for which the City has neither the money nor vision to do much.

So I'd like to see expanded 'naturalized' areas with native plants, particularly along non-beach shorelines, especially the interior channels and the lake-facing side. I too want to preserve some good skyline viewing on the city side so there is less (but not zero) room for natural shorelines on that side.

***

Part of my desire for the natural areas is not just the desire for greater sustainability or nature viewing or the like, its also to facilitate a redirection of maintenance resources so that the 'grand' pathways coming out of ferry terminals and leading to key destinations, where manicured maintenance is more appropriate can get more elaborate flower displays, public art, and fully reflect the specialness of the islands.

I think the opportunity exists for greater recreation through cycling, canoe-ing kayaking and hiking.

Respectively, by bringing Bixi to the islands, better advertising concerning ease of canoe/kayak rentals, and creating new smaller 'hiking' trails as larger naturalized areas form.

***

Abandoned civic facilities should be removed, and washrooms should be better designed to withstand low-maintenance levels. (sensor tabs, trough sinks, auto-flushing, vandalism resistance) etc.

While I don't want widespread commercialism, the thought of adding one more restaurant, something high end, to the islands, with a great view of the city, that might help provide 'eyes on the street' so to speak and could be a year-round attraction has some appeal to me.

 

[Torontovibe]

I wish the city would build a second ferry terminal on the west side of the waterfront, maybe near Spadina. The lineups on weekends are just too long for me and I'd really like another alternative. (on certain days it's just excruciating) I also hate the terminal the way it is now and would gladly love to avoid that concrete bunker. I'm sorry but I would not want something that ugly and unpleasant named after a loved one of mine. (Layton deserves better)