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Toronto Parks

dt_toronto_geek said:
I'm kind of concerned about the maintenance of Queen's Park this summer, it's worse than ever. The fountain at the s/w corner of the park has a metal fence blocking off access, several large old trees have huge dead branches that are ready to drop, one has and a 40 or so foot branch has been blocking a main walking path behind the Edward VII statue for several weeks now, speaking of the statue erosion continues to deteriorate the hill on which it sits with rocks coming loose and laying at the foot of the hill and a bench has collapsed and is covered in caution tape. It's not only a shame for locals who enjoy the park but hugely embarrassing for us to tourists who make their way through there. I want to call someone about all of this but I don't know who, I don't think this park is maintained by the City.
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It's embarrassing that we call that space "Queen's Park". The city needs to put together an ambitious revitalization plan for both the north and south sides. It's such a prominent and central public space. There are so many condos being built in the area and the Ontario government connection that money may not be what's holding it back.
 
I really don't find Queen's park that bad as is today ... yes there are some key aspects that could be improved ... most of the benches / lighting are old / in rough shape. I personally like the trails as is but I can see why others wouldn't. The North side is pretty good today - it's a little bare, but during the summer there's some plantings i.e. flowers / sculptures ... I'd like to see more.

But anyway there are many other parks in much worse shape.
 
taal said:
I really don't find Queen's park that bad as is today ... yes there are some key aspects that could be improved ... most of the benches / lighting are old / in rough shape. I personally like the trails as is but I can see why others wouldn't. The North side is pretty good today - it's a little bare, but during the summer there's some plantings i.e. flowers / sculptures ... I'd like to see more.
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I agree, mostly. Several large old trees have been lost in the past 3 or 4 years, more plantings are needed. The walkways need something better than pavement (or concrete), new benches & picnic tables, and the water feature desperately needs some TLC and it could be a great draw over to that corner if the fountains actually worked and/or were improved upon. The old fashioned light standards are only a few years old, there's nothing wrong with them. The north side of Queen's Park north has a beautiful grand entrance, the south side is lacking and I really dislike the same old boring annuals they plant there every year - same with the south side of Queen's Park south. An orgy of perennials that bloom throughout the spring, summer and fall season are completely worthy of these important spaces (see the parkettes east of Yonge downtown as a great example of colour from April through early to mid-October or walk south on University and look at the incredible mix of perennials in the centre median).
 
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taal said:
I really don't find Queen's park that bad as is today ... yes there are some key aspects that could be improved ... most of the benches / lighting are old / in rough shape. I personally like the trails as is but I can see why others wouldn't. The North side is pretty good today - it's a little bare, but during the summer there's some plantings i.e. flowers / sculptures ... I'd like to see more.

But anyway there are many other parks in much worse shape.
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While it's true that Queen's Park isn't the worst park in the city, it should be one of the best, if not one of the nicest of its kind in Canada because of its high usage and its historic and very prominent location. It's a great opportunity to promote Canadian landscape design and for grandeur. The problems we're talking about are the most noticeable elements of the park--the seating, the paving, and the landscaping around the monuments. The new historicist lighting is nice, but actually a design I've seen in several cities and rather "off the shelf". The important monuments themselves lack lighting even though it seems logical for the likes of the 48th Highlanders monument and the Edward VII statue. The concrete sidewalk in front of the legislature looks so cheap, as does the asphalt paving for the parking lot. The benches are generic and look poorly maintained. If we really wanted to be ambitious, we could also relocate and replace the 48th Highlanders monument with something taller and bolder because it's too stubby for its location in middle of the Queen's Park thoroughfare at the north tip of the park.
 
^I agree with everything you've said, junctionist.

Another problem with Queen's Park is that it is treated as a glorified traffic island; the biggest example being the fact that there is effectively an off-ramp to Wellesley. It would be a daring move, but I would like to see the south-bound lanes of Queen's Park routed to the east side, parallel to the current north-bound lanes. Queen's Park could then become like a great, public "front lawn" for U of T - similar to what the New Haven green is for Yale.
 
According to Kristyn Wong-Tam there are plans to renovate Queen's Park in 2012 - though I am not sure what is planned. There is $1.25 million in tjhe 2012 Capital Budget for it.
 
That's fantastic news!!! I follow her on Facebook, twitter & get her newsletter - so how'd you hear about that?
 
Looks like they are starting to put up a few trees on the Wynford Park development. You may recall a prior mention of this - a museum and cultural centre in the midst of a park. 17 acre site in total. Anyway, the interesting side is that while the construction project is not expected to finish till 2013, they are being quite thoughtful in putting up a few trees from now to get them semi-mature by the opening. Often we see landscaping as an afterthought / last thing to do in such development projects - so this is a welcome development :)
 
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Well, it is pretty central to this one - not only as an expression of the culture that will be showcased there but as an expression of the wide open spaces available in suburban Toronto itself. What a fortuitous combination.
 
Update on construction of the AKM & ICT park via TheIsmaili.org

Garden in the city will draw from the past to connect communities today and tomorrow
“Why are parks important? I cannot imagine cities without parks,†said Lebanon-based landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic, at the May 2010 foundation ceremony. “They play a very important role because that’s where you reconnect with nature.â€

Djurovic, who was selected to design the Park after an international competition, was influenced by other green spaces from around the Muslim world, including many developed or rehabilitated by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in places like Cairo, Kabul, Delhi and Zanzibar. Mawlana Hazar Imam had asked him to visit a number of these before the architect designed the Toronto Park.

“The gardens at Humayun’s Tomb in India are one of my favourite gardens of all time,†said Djurovic. “Seeing a garden designed a very, very long time back — and which today is probably even more magical than when it was designed — was a huge inspiration.â€

visit ORIGINAL ARTICLE for full text and pictures
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There is also a construction update / gallery on that site. See:
Gallery: Wynford Drive construction progress — January 2012
 
Update on the park / landscaping surrounding the Aga Khan Museum project. Very cool details in these pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/agakhanmuse...7292882.126064.485619821462818&type=1&theater
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Credit Aga Khan Museum Facebook Page
 
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