Toronto Corktown Common | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto | Maryann Thompson

ponyboy said:
I hope they do some improvements on the don river trail. it is a mess currently, and could use some resurfacing, lighting, and cleaning of the river along there, which stinks when I run down there. With the DVP on one side and the train on the other, this always reminds me of how Toronto has turned its back on this river. I hope it can be rehabilitated and connected well to this new park.
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There is a connection (presently blocked off just north of the railway bridge). WT and the City built a new tunnel and it will be opened when the new park opens. I agree completely that the Don River trail needs some maintenance but this is up to the City not WT - several parts do need resurfacing, a couple of tight spots could easily be widened slightly and the old and unused 'telegraph poles' north of the new (blocked) entrance (just south of the old Eastern Avenue bridge) should really be removed.
 
It would have been especially nice if an access to the don path was made at Queen, so that people could loop from the neighbourhood, through the river path, and back in at the tunnel. The railway - I've only ever seen a few GO trains on it - how much travel actually occurs on this line?
 
The site area
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ponyboy said:
I hope they do some improvements on the don river trail. it is a mess currently, and could use some resurfacing, lighting, and cleaning of the river along there, which stinks when I run down there. With the DVP on one side and the train on the other, this always reminds me of how Toronto has turned its back on this river. I hope it can be rehabilitated and connected well to this new park.
Click to expand...

I don't use it very often, but I remember that the Don path looked virtually abandoned by the city when I went for a bike ride around the city earlier this year. There was graffiti everywhere, the path was in very bad shape and narrow, the signage was very poor, and there was evidence of homeless people living under a couple of bridges. I mentioned these observations somewhere, and someone noted that the Don floods the path at some point every year, and that and all the tree roots explains its bad surface. It needs a lot of attention and it deserves it, passing through so many neighbourhoods and on the edge of downtown.
 
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Interesting to see Jim Flaherty all smiles at another one of these things. By a couple of accounts he has undergone a late-life transformation into a major Toronto booster. Inasmuch as the Tories stay in power, I wonder if he can be cultivated as the first real Toronto ally in the Conservative cabinet.
 
Federal money went into this park, so I'd expect some Conservative rep there. What has he done lately to be a Toronto booster? A disproportionate share of the stimulus money went to low-density parts of the country.
 
I wandered past here on the weekend; I can't get over how high the flood protection berm is. It's gonna make for some good tobogganing!
 
I love the design of this park but I wish Toronto had a bit more guts.... imagine if the Richmond St flyover and the ramps to the DVP were tunneled? It would make this area even better, I do like the gritty vibe but can't help imagining that it would be even more hospitable if those ramps were underground.
 
The City has now issued the permits for building the park pavillion for this park. Has anyone seen renderings or more info?

515 FRONT ST E
Description: Permit to construct new Group A building to be used as parks building and canopy -

10 143952 HVA 00 Mechanical(MS) Apr 14, 2010 Permit Issued
10 143952 PLB 00 Plumbing(PS) Apr 14, 2010 Permit Issued
10 143952 BLD 00 New Building Apr 1, 2010 Permit Issued
10 143952 STS 00 Drain and Site Service Apr 1, 2010 Permit Issued
 
How big is this compared to Sherbourne Common? Some of those images they show are pretty skewed, particularly the father with the son on his shoulders in what looks like a meadow without another building in sight
 
Sorry, just answered my own question. Don River is about 6 times as big as Sherbourne Common, WAY larger than I expected!
 
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