Gleaner

Serving Toronto's most liveable community with the Annex Gleaner

← →

FORUM: Celebrating greenspaces, easing congestion (Aug. 2025)

September 29th, 2025 · No Comments

Park revivals and Bathurst bus lanes dominate agenda

By Dianne Saxe

What a month July was! I’m thrilled that we had a very productive city council session, with real progress on RapidTO Bathurst and more shelter space for Toronto’s homeless.

Three top things this month:

1. The incredible new Biidaasige Park 

After 35 years, it is exhilarating to celebrate the restored Don River and the first 50 acres of Biidaasige Park. This extraordinary transformation of industrial wasteland protects the Port Lands from flooding, reintroduces nature, and creates an inspiring new park: the playgrounds are Toronto’s best; the Indigenous art is moving and playful; the riverside walks are gorgeous; fish and kayaks have found the river; birds and butterflies have found the wetland; century-old seeds have sprouted. Join me there for our community tour and picnic at 5 p.m. on Aug. 17. You can get there by bike, transit, car, or kayak.

2. Faster transit on Bathurst 

After intense consultations, data gathering, and door knocking, we are speeding up transit on Bathurst. July council approved three key steps:

Bathurst will get a dedicated streetcar lane from Lakeshore to Bloor, enhancing the reliability, speed, and frequency of the Bathurst streetcar, with a target of a six-minute headway this fall.

From Bloor to Eglinton, the northbound bus is trapped in traffic from about 2 p.m. every afternoon. On Sept. 18, staff will recommend to the Toronto East York community council which parking, turning, and signal changes will speed up the afternoon northbound bus, while leaving some parking to support local businesses. Most changes should be implemented this fall. 

Staff may recommend temporary measures to improve transit during FIFA, including temporary bus lanes. Afterwards, city staff will recommend long-term next steps, which may include adjusting the time of day or implementing permanent bus lanes; by then, we will know whether my targeted measures have made enough of a difference for transit riders.

Special thanks to the five Bathurst/Dupont businesses that wrote in support of this targeted, data-based approach: Summerhill Markets, Flur, Tattoo People, and Qalat, She Said. Please give them your support.

3. Bringing back the Vale of Avoca

A century ago, the Vale of Avoca ravine, located near Yonge and St. Clair, was a popular park destination. The Vale remains an important refuge from the city’s noise and heat, but it is suffering badly from erosion and neglect. The rough trails are being eaten away with every storm; trees are falling as the slopes collapse; access stairs are broken. After all of Ford’s cuts, the city cannot afford more than an occasional Band-Aid solution, even though thousands of new condo units are expected nearby.

I am therefore delighted to partner with the Midtown Ravines Group to restore the Vale to a beautiful, accessible, walkable park that links the Don River trails to midtown. This coalition of residents’ associations has agreed to raise $40 million for capital and maintenance in the Vale, but first, they need a high-quality plan. I negotiated with Councillor Matlow and with staff to jointly fund a $1.5 million redesign to achieve ecological, recreational, and flood management objectives. The planning and consultation phase should be completed next year, with construction beginning in 2027.

Other community improvements I helped deliver this month include:

a) $200,000 in funding to build a signalized pedestrian crossing across Avenue Road at Ramsden Park;

b) $109,000 in funding to build a recording studio and accessible doors in the new performance centre at 877 Yonge;

c) $883,625 in funding to rebuild the Rosedale Valley Multiuse Trail and to plan a safe exit from it;

d) Changes to the Landlord and Tenant Board so that evicted tenants should get better information from the board;  

e) Six suburban homeless shelters will now be built.

f) Noise exemptions have been tightened for loud events at Christie Pits.

g) The Dafoe Urn will be reinstalled at Craigleigh Gardens. 

h) Kids’ baseball diamonds will be improved at Christie Pits.

i) The developer of 126 Avenue Road has committed to indoor garbage pickup and to allowing the flower shop to return.

j) The city will take small steps to discourage greenwashing in ads on city assets; and

k) The University of Toronto will install district clean energy pipes for its campus.

I hope you’re taking time for whatever makes summer joyful for you and your family. Have you tasted University-Rosedale’s best ice cream? Watched a play outdoors? Joined a neighbourhood potluck? Do let me know what summer treats you love best.

Dianne Saxe is city councillor for Ward 11, University-Rosedale.

READ MORE:

Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion