Build the world’s longest Urban Park and remove the Island Airport.
“The more urban we become, the more we need nature.”
The city of Toronto is a park city, but residents of the city of Toronto would not necessarily know that. Many ravines, green paths and parks run through our city but are interrupted and disjointed. We can connect these parks together with a few simple interventions and provide people with continuous green experience right in the heart of the city. Some of these interventions are done very simply by the addition of proper paths and lighting so that people can enjoy them continuously without having to fight major automobile roadways. Some others are more intensive but go a long way in realizing the goal.
For example, we can connect High Park to the water by decking over the transit routes that currently cut it off from the lake. The attached sketch shows how this might work. This simple connection then allows High Park to be connected to the waterfront, up the Don River to Sunnybrook Park and beyond on one side and the Humber River and the ravine system on the other side. Toronto has many such Ravines and these connections allow us to better access and appreciate them.
This new unified park can move through a revitalized Ontario Place and connect to Centre Island. I am also calling for the removal of the Island Airport. I cannot believe that in the post 9-11 world the Island Airport is still being used and other airlines , such as Air Canada, want a piece of it.
I think that the closure of this airport is one unfortunate accident away.
Not only that, but the Island is supposed to be our playground not a place for noise and jet fuel.
Besides, the new transit connections to the Pearson Airport will help make the Island Airport obsolete.
“Green infrastructure is not an amenity. It is a necessity. Who would build a road system that didn’t connect? It is the same for green spaces. The point of a green infrastructure plan is to take a strategic approach, just as we take a strategic approach to transportation.”
Edward T. McMahon
Urban Land Institute
Related Studies
The Health Benefits of Parks
GREY TO GREEN
Measuring the Economic Value of a City Park System
Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Urban Parks
How Cities Use Parks for…Green Infrastructure
Urban Green Nation:Building the evidence base
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