Northern Light
Superstar
At first blush, I'm not taken with this design.
My objections:
1) Play equipment looks dull; and playground area small. Choose! If planning for playground do it well. Kids like conventional swings, full-sized climbing equipment, merry-go-rounds/spinners, regular/tube slides etc etc.
Very little of that here.
2) I didn't see anything about a noise mitigation plan; Eglinton is loud, while the park is above it, I would expect some pretty heavy noise infiltration. I would have chose to go heavy on the trees, including conifers on the Eglinton side, with a look-out that curves out so you can dampen noise, but see a skyline shot of the area.
3) The never-ending ramp to Eglinton. I understand and support accessibility. But I'm hard-pressed to envision why most people would arrive to this park from the south, south-west (nearest residence is well over 1km away on Leslie). Residents arriving from the north or south-east would not use this access point. I can think of only one reason to go down to Eglinton here, given that the transit station will be back at the corner with Don Mills, reachable without walking up/down a big hill; to access Sunnybrook/ET Seton. But with a proposed pedestrian link to the Don Mills Trail, this one is rather cumbersome. At any rate, if one is going to put an access on this side, it should include a staircase to cut travel time (stick a bike channel alongside it too). This idea was well showcased by U of T with their UTSC Valley Access to Highland Creek.
4) I'd love to hear the rationale for the amphitheater design. That sucks up a lot of space; but it only seems to afford a view of a small, un-exciting play area. There doesn't seem to be a vision for any active programming. Alternatively, if you were affording this for people to have a view; the most interesting views here would be to the south-west with skyline views and possibly the pond below the Science Centre; that would see the amphitheater on the opposite side.
5) The open lawn, I'm all for open space if it's meant to do something. But this lawn area is small, and comparatively un-adorned, I don't see it as ideal for picnics, or sunning one's self; nor is it large enough to be a good informal play area.
Where are you going to hide for the game of hide and seek?
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