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News Release

New Park and Trail Launch the Next Era of Ontario Place
June 19, 2017

Province Unveils New Urban Green Space to Celebrate Ontario’s 150th Anniversary
For the first time in more than 40 years, Ontario residents and visitors can enjoy a spectacular part of Toronto's waterfront at Ontario Place's newly opened park and trail.

Premier Kathleen Wynne and Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, were at Ontario Place today to unveil the new Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail, and officially open them to the public. The opening is the first milestone in the province's plan to transform the iconic landmark into a vibrant, year-round destination for people of all ages.

As progress on Ontario Place continues, the site will be at the centre of the action as the province celebrates Ontario's 150th anniversary, a year-long celebration that aims to honour Ontario's past, showcase the present and inspire future generations.

To create the new Trillium Park, a seven-and-a-half acre parking lot was converted into green space using ideas from people across Ontario. The new site features an open-air pavilion inspired by evergreen forests and Ontario Place's unique design, as well as open spaces to host art fairs, film festivals, yoga classes, school groups and food vendors.

The William G. Davis Trail, named for Ontario's Premier at the time of Ontario Place's opening in 1971, is a 1.3 kilometre-long trail that connects the new park to the Trans Canada Trail.

Other highlights of the park include:

  • The Ravine with Moccasin Identifier: Developed in collaboration with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, a moccasin etching in this gateway to the park provides a visual reminder to celebrate and honour the history and culture of Indigenous peoples
  • The Bluff: Stacked boulders and rocks from a Muskoka quarry are located along the trail, symbolizing the prehistoric Lake Iroquois shoreline.
Transforming Ontario Place is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.


QUICK FACTS
  • Key design elements of the new park and trail reflect the Indigenous heritage of the site, which is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.
  • A continuous route of more than 2,000 kilometres in Ontario, the Trans Canada Trail includes the Martin Goodman Trail and the Pan Am Path.
  • In celebration of Ontario’s 150th anniversary, Ontario Place is hosting a themed event every long weekend this summer.
  • Every year, Ontario’s festivals and events attract tourists, support tens of thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars in revenue.
 
I'm concerned this might become HTO Part 2, but on a bigger scale: a relatively pedestrian, vacuous greenspace that is dead in winter months and only used by for Lakeshore West condo dwellers to let their dogs poop. It needs a dynamic anchor like a cultural space or educational institute.
 
Well. Have to check this out on the morning run this week. But yes, since it's a bit far from anything else and doesn't strictly lead anywhere, it may wind up fairly under-used.
 
This gives me hope that they get it.

pavillionjpg.jpg.size.custom.crop.776x650.jpg


That new pavilion is very much in keeping with the original architecture at Ontario Place but built in this generation's materials and style. It's nostalgic, yet modern. I like it.
 
mjl08 said:
I'm concerned this might become HTO Part 2, but on a bigger scale: a relatively pedestrian, vacuous greenspace that is dead in winter months and only used by for Lakeshore West condo dwellers to let their dogs poop. It needs a dynamic anchor like a cultural space or educational institute.
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That is exactly what I predict will happen, minus the condo dwellers who will continue walking their dogs in the very nice dog park in Coronation Park, just beside this area. This new park will mostly be populated only when there are events going on like movie nights or festivals at Ontario Place and of course, Caribana. At most other times I suspect it will be less crowded than Coronation Park, which is pretty sparse on most days.
 
This view may be unpopular, but they could create a 24-hour community if they allowed a mid-rise "village of cultures" to be built in the parking lots on the north side of Lake Shore, emphasizing a theme of multiculturism that draws influences, architecture, and culture of Toronto's population. Transit access would need to be improved, and parking would need to be added below ground. The CNE could be held on the lots south of Lake Shore. An integrated vision should include both Ontario Place and Exhibition Place. If they can get rid of the car race, they can alter/reconfigure the streets for pedestrian oriented scale and connectivity. Time to start treating this area as urban rather than suburban. I hope that the leaders looking into this are thinking big and coming up with something that looks at the big picture of the entire area, rather than just adding a park here and there.

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ponyboy said:
This view may be unpopular, but they could create a 24-hour community if they allowed a mid-rise "village of cultures" to be built in the parking lots on the north side of Lake Shore, emphasizing a theme of multiculturism that draws influences, architecture, and culture of Toronto's population. Transit access would need to be improved, and parking would need to be added below ground. The CNE could be held on the lots south of Lake Shore. An integrated vision should include both Ontario Place and Exhibition Place. If they can get rid of the car race, they can alter/reconfigure the streets for pedestrian oriented scale and connectivity. Time to start treating this area as urban rather than suburban. I hope that the leaders looking into this are thinking big and coming up with something that looks at the big picture of the entire area, rather than just adding a park here and there.

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I was down there today...wanted to lie on the grass before the Canadian Geese arrive and ruin it...

My feeling is the parking lot on the south side should be redeveloped - with parking on the lakeshore side in a couple of levels, with the south side facing the water commercial (restaurants) and the top residential.

The north side parking lots should be trimmed down and lakeshore should potentially be decked over. Ex needs to come up with a more slimmed down midway - and parking needs to be done in a structure instead of just lots...

The Budweiser stage should be made a year-round venue, potentially with a retractable wall of some sort...still open in the summer...

Echo Beach should be open to the public when there is no concerts on...shut it down only on days when there are concerts...(I've been in there a few times when there was nothing happening...it's got a great vibe.

The rest of Ontario place was open today, this is good, it needs to be left as a waste-land, but they should use the buildings that still exist for non-profits, art or other social enterprises (I'm thinking the Silo's, the stage area, restaurants, and the pods)...maybe redevelop some of the unused space into more functional year-round buildings...401 Richmond style things would work here very well...

There needs to be better access to the west side of Ontario Place from the main-land...the existing bridges go through the pod entrance which is less than ideal since it's closed often.

Not sure if BMO field is used in the winter - but a bubble on it would allow it to be used for Rec games and other uses during the winter.

Some of the single story buildings in the EX need to be redeveloped - with OCAD being an example of ways to build on top of them without ruining the historical structures...many other ways to do that, but single story buildings in this area of town are a waste...even if they are beautiful they need to be better utilized.
 
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