Compiled and photos by Fox Oliver
Every year the Annex Gleaner reviews the abundance of parks in the Annex using a variety of criteria.
While there is no decisive “winner” of the grading, letter grades are assigned to convey the quality of the parks considering aspects such as upkeep, amenities, and accessibility.
As part of the Gleaner’s annual area park reviews, here is Part Two. We grade each park and compare the score with the prior year. We look for amenities, trees, gardens, and cleanliness. We also tell you something you may not know about how the space got its name.
A new park is coming to Macpherson Avenue as a part of the city’s Green Line project. Macpherson Avenue Park will be located at Macpherson Avenue and Davenport Road, down the street from Jay Macpherson Parkette. This park is a part of a bigger project proposed by the city called the Green Line project which, according to the city, would “transform a currently in-use electric transmission corridor into a five km-long connected park and open space.” This new park will be the first of three new parks to be initiated for their Green Line project.
Correction: On page 11 of the August 2020 issue of the Annex Gleaner, in the annual Grading our Greenspace section, Jay Macpherson was misidentified as “he”. This error was brought to our attention by Alexandra F. Johnston, professor emerita, Department of English, Victoria College, University of Toronto. The Gleaner regrets the error.
In this year’s installment of evaluating park spaces within the Gleaner’s catchment area, our observers noted the impressive revival of Queen’s Park North showing what a great city can do when it focuses its imagination and resources. The neglected Euclid Avenue Park, near Koreatown, shows what happens when these resources are withheld. Compiled by Mary An, Tanya Ielyseieva, and Nicole Stoffman.
In this final instalment of this year’s Gleaner’s park evaluation once again Christie Pits score an A+ for its design, maintenance, and the sheer volume of activities and facilities there. Paul Martel Mark on Madison Avenue just north of Bloor can fall no further on our scale. It got an F because of the City’s utter neglect of the site.