Compromise found for new build on 300 Bloor St. W. church site

By Ahmed Hagar

A redesigned and more “slender” 29-storey tower looks to be the future for 300 Bloor Street, after a lengthy public process and, finally, an agreement between developers, city councilors, and residents.

The tower will attach to the historic Bloor Street United Church (BSUC), and will include office space, public space for community events, 249 residential units, and an underground parking garage.

The developers, Collecdev Inc., KPMB Architects, and ERA Architects in partnership with the church, originally proposed that the building be 38 storeys high. But they shifted their proposal to a 27-storey development due to concerns about the height. The height remained a concern for a number of vocal residents at a public meeting last December.

City planner Barry Brooks says what led to the final 29-storey height is that the base of the building to the rear was lowered by the applicant from 8 storeys to 5 storeys.

“The tower height increased 2 storeys as a result to maintain a reasonable overall project density,” adds Brooks. “The height adjustment will greatly improve the pedestrian relationship and experience on the adjacent sidewalks, and it will not cast a shadow on the residential neighbourhood.”

Councillor Mike Layton explains that the shadow of the more slender building will move more quickly through the day, and therefore make less impact on important spaces in the area.

He adds that the updated plan also includes the developer-contribution of $2.3 million for affordable housing and $416,000 in assistance for the accommodation of the Annex Seniors Adult Services in the building.

At the final working group meeting for this proposal, Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) chair David Harrison said the negotiations were successful due to all parties wanting to reach a consensus.

The proposal also includes refurbishing the interior of the 133-year-old church to create a multi-faith space for the church congregation and the City Shul synagogue. Layton says the Bloor Street entrance will be removed to create a “more inviting and acceptable” entrance to the worship space.

Michael Hilliard, a member of the BSUC and chair of the church’s redevelopment committee, says that the building plans were 20 years in the making. He also says that it will have accessible public spaces for the community and office spaces for the new headquarters of the United Church of Canada.

“When I step back and envision the future of this project I imagine a beautiful space that’s vibrant and live with activity, a place where people can live, work, play, and pray,” he said.

READ MORE:

• NEWS: Condo plan evolves (Winter 2019)
• NEWS: Height-ened fears (Dec. 2017)
• NEWS: First look at Bloor Street United (Oct. 2017)
• NEWS: New vision for Bloor Street United (JULY 2017)
• U of T, community in talks over Bloor United project (JUNE 2012)

Classes cut in wake of funding changes

By Juan Romero

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has approved a budget reduction plan for the 2019-20 school year. The budget reduction comes as a result of the provincial government’s education cuts across Ontario in the past year. 

The board announced that $67.8 million will be cut from the budget and as a result there will be a reduction of staff as well as changes to certain programs across schools in the city. The news puts the future of the art courses and some teachers at Central Technical School in jeopardy. 

Fernanda Pisani, who is a member of the Alumnus Association at Central Tech, was very critical of the TDSB for allowing the provincial government to make these cuts without putting up a fight. She also blames the Ford government for “eviscerating bills that benefit our community”.

“I can’t understand why the Toronto District School Board is not standing up to Queen’s Park in a really big way, because this is not the first time it has happened under a Tory government. It seems now that it is enabling the demise of the public education system as we know it,” Pisani said. 

There have already been many cuts at Central Tech according to Pisani. The staff there has recently been cut dramatically. The most affected have been the technicians that help the professors ensure the safety and maintenance of the facilities.

“There have been cuts in regard to hiring of technicians, which is a necessity when you do a program like sculpture or ceramics. You need a technician to help keep the environment and facilities safe and functioning properly. That is not the job of the teacher because these are qualifications over and above teaching qualifications,” Pisani explained.  

Teachers with lack of seniority have also been affected by staff reductions, leaving some specialized courses at Central Tech to be taught by teachers who may not be trained in that specific field. 

The art program at Central Tech dates back to 1915, which makes it one of the oldest in the city. It has served as a foundation for some well recognized Canadian artists such as Joyce Weiland and Kazuo Nakamura. 

Linda R. Goldman is a former student, who later on went on to teach fabric arts at Central Tech from 1990 to 1992. She says she’s seen the arts program put in jeopardy repeatedly over the years and stated her belief that art programs should be given equal importance as other subjects in order to give equal opportunities for people who are on the artistic side.

“The art school there has had close calls like this before. For kids that are interested in going into the arts it is important to have these specialized programs available for them,” Goldman said.

She was also very critical of all the cuts Doug Ford has made since he came into power, especially regarding education. 

“I don’t know what he thinks he is accomplishing with this. I love the course at Central Tech and of course I am upset about the decision that was made,” she said.

The mood among students at Central Tech is also somewhat of disbelief. The program has been running for many decades, laying a great foundation for students who want to pursue careers in art; to see it come down to this has left most students upset. 

Angela Walcott is a student of the adult art program at Central Tech. She has attended the school since 2015. She has a lot of praise for the program and believes the board should find a way to keep art programs running steadily. 

“Personally for me and for some of my fellow classmates that I have talked to, we have felt that the courses really changed our approach to a lot of things and it helped us develop our sense of style and sort of our sense of understanding the process. So for that to disappear after decades in the educational system is just sad,” Walcott said. “I do hope that the program remains or comes back in a new form. It would be nice because there is a vision there and there is a foundation.”

However, there are a few reasons why the board might argue why they approved certain cuts. According to Fernanda Pisani, there has been a decrease in enrolment in high schools all across the city. At Central Tech the decrease has also been caused due to the fact that its art program is not longer as unique as it once was. There is more competition from schools in the area that offer similar programs.

 Yet despite the recent enrolment issues, she believes that the real threat to programs such as the art one at Central Tech has been the budget given by the provincial governments throughout the years. 

“At one point it was under the control of the municipal government. Ever since the mandate at Queen’s Park began to take over the budget for education in the city, things changed. It has been very impactful because depending on who is in power at the provincial level you have funding that reflects that,” she said. 

With regard to the Toronto District School Board, its chair Robin Pilkey said that the board worked very hard to maintain a balanced budget for 2019-20 at the same time as they were coping with the budget reductions from the government. 

“Despite these challenges, we have been careful to ensure that we continue to have sufficient resources to offer an outstanding education experience for our students,” Pilkey said. 

They have also announced that, despite the cuts, they will still have a budget of $3.4 billion. Over 90 per cent of the budget will go toward school operations and instruction. They also predict a small increase in enrolment for the next few years.

Expansion to add study space to face of library

By Ingrid Philipp

The Brutalist concrete façade of the original Robarts Library at the University of Toronto is renowned for its seemingly forbidding entry to any but the most serious scholar.

While the topmost stacks have remained sacred ground to protect books and materials from casual use, the library has become under-graduate and community-friendly. According to Canadian Architect magazine, the intimidating peacock-shaped structure has even hosted filmmakers who needed a prison or UFO setting. As many as 18,000 people have been known to visit the library in a single day.

Even with a multi-year renovation to open up the original structure to daylight and improved study space, student growth has maxed out the capacity for such space. Already Canada’s largest academic library, Robarts and other campus libraries serve a current university population of approximately 90,000 undergraduates and 20,000 post-graduate students.

According to Diamond Schmitt Architect’s associate Aaron Costain, the freestanding addition along the west side of the Robarts site will add 1,200 seats for student study.  Costain explains that the 25 per cent increase over Robarts’ current 4,800 seats will include study options ranging from group study tables and rooms to an amphitheatre and individual carrels. Students will be able to use the private rooms for collective work while sharing their computers on a large screen, and to escape to a lounge for more relaxed social space. Even staircases will double as seating, as Diamond Schmitt demonstrates in the Toronto Four Seasons Centre for the Arts.

The new addition along the west side of the Robarts property will have a street level entrance and be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The expansion’s wrap-around glass façade with wood accents contains some echoes of the main concrete building, and will connect to the original 14- storey building by a bridge on floors two, three, four, and five.

Unlike the main building, glass will flood the area with light, even as a thematic relationship between the buildings is maintained through the Commons faceted shapes. Rolling blinds will control the amount of window light for both interior and external residents.

Huron-Sussex Residents’ Organization co-president Julie Mathien said that a major concern for the group was the possible effect of the new building’s 24-hour lighting on nearby residents, who live as close as 50 feet away. Because all new developments in the university are brought to the City University Community Liaison Committee headed by Councillor Mike Layton, the residents were able to get the university to mitigate the effect of the lighting.

Even though the residents would have preferred not to have construction, the organization understands the university’s need to serve students. Mathien called the five- to six-year discussions constructive and says, “We can live with the building.”

Costain points to the new University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, the Ottawa Public Library, which will have National Archive holdings, and the Gerstein Library at the University of Toronto as proof of the firm’s experience designing libraries. Canadian Architect recently published an illustration of Diamond Schmitt’s library build at Wilfrid Laurier University. Although Laurier is not as large a school as Toronto, a student there explained the importance of library study space in an age when many students choose or are forced to live off campus with several roommates. In a word, they need a quiet place to concentrate.

Today, the University of Toronto can only promise residential housing to first-year students. Consider the current costs of Toronto housing, and the number of students who commute to U of T from other towns and cities, and it becomes even harder to dispute the need for university-based study space.

The new addition should be ready to open by the spring of 2020.

Residents got a taste of the ice age in the form of a large boulder found at a construction site on Bloor Street at Major. Construction workers excavating the location of a new parkette dug up the boulder at the end of July.

Joe Desloges, an Earth Sciences professor at the University of Toronto, says that the rock most likely came from an iceberg in Lake Iroquois, which had its shore near Casa Loma.

“If you drill down through here, you mostly hit about 70 to 80 feet of glacial lake sand; below that you get the Georgian Bay formation which is the local geology. To find a big piece of this buried on glacial Lake Iroquois sands means that icebergs were floating around and they had pieces of this embedded,” Desloges said.

It weighs close to two tonnes and is estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5 billion years old.

According to Desloges, the ice started melting between 25 and 15 thousand years ago. During that melt, stones such as the one on Bloor Street were dropped out of the melting ice into local lake sediments.

Rocks like these are actually common, just not in this area.

“You are more likely to find rocks like this when you look at the gullies and the ravines cutting through the Humber and the Don and creeks,” says Desloges.  

The rock will likely find a new home at one of the many planned parkettes along Bloor Street.

The chair of the Bloor/Annex BIA (and publisher of this newspaper) Brian Burchell says he is fascinated by the discovery, and will try to have the rock placed at a new parkette on Howland Avenue alongside a pollinator garden.

When planning the parkettes, the Bloor/Annex BIA had actually planned to include large granite boulders in the form of artistic seating. 

“For the rock to appear during the excavation period, it kind of validates that plan,” says Burchell. “It gives us a link to the past and to incorporate that into our future plans to make a cottage-like environment in our parkettes seems very appropriate.”

—Juan Romero, Gleaner News

READ MORE

• NEWS: BIA behind green plan (Spring 2019)
• CHATTER: No more funding for Annex Family Festival (Jan. 2018)
• Chatter: Bloor Annex BIA updates street revitalization plan (Nov. 2017)
• CHATTER: Bloor Annex BIA showcases street greening plans(DECEMBER 2016)
• CHATTER: Ground-breaking bike lanes launch on Bloor Street (AUGUST 2016)
• NEWS: Bloor Street goes green (April 2016)

The prospect of a little time-travelling attracted a large gathering of residents to A Different Booklist on May 29. There was a definitely palpable sense of intrigue and excitement at the event as messages had been prepared to send to the future. 

The future of Westbank’s Mirvish Village at Bloor and Bathurst Street is a work in progress, but thanks to a concept launched by A Different Booklist, the diverse history of the area will be enshrined within it. The bookstore and cultural centre gathered more than 1,000 messages and had them buried at the former site of Honest Ed’s.

“Bathurst Street and the former Mirvish Village was a place of memory and history and so we added to that,” says Ita Sadu, co-owner of A Different Booklist.“We believe that in doing the time capsules our narratives, the history of African-Canadians, of Caribbean-Canadians of Koreans, of Ukrainians, or of the Jewish community will be recorded.”

Each capsule contains the name of the person who wrote it, and the name of someone who inspires them. A reception at the bookstore gathered project participants, including local elders and students from the nearby Alpha Alternative School, to walk together to the proposed burial site for the time capsule at the south-west corner of Bloor and Bathurst Streets. 

At the construction site, the group handed the box over to Westbank construction workers to bury.

Jonah Letovsky, a development manager at Westbank, says there will be a parkette built right above the area where the time capsule was buried.

“We are looking into the idea of installing a plaque immediately above the time capsule. The plaque would identify what it is and why we placed it there,” says Letovsky. He adds that when Sadu approached him about the project, he immediately liked the idea. “We see the idea of adding the time capsule to create a new marker in time instead of continually referencing the Mirvish period. This is a great way to indicate the importance of this location as a cultural icon.”

—Juan Romero, Gleaner News

READ MORE:

• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Summer 2019)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (May 2019)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Spring 2019)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How nice (December 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (City Election 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (October 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How nice (Aug./Sept. 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Summer 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (July 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Election Special 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (May 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Spring 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Mar. 2018)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Dec. 2017)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON How nice! (August 2017)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON How nice! (July 2017)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: how nice! by blamb (June 2017)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: TCHC (May 2017)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: The Grand Tory (April 2017)
• FORUM: Celebrating 20 years of cartoonist Brett Lamb (April 2017)

After a five-month break from public scrutiny, enabled by not having a sitting legislature, the provincial government of Premier Doug Ford should emerge from the rock it has been hiding under.  A new modus operandi is needed, one that respects cabinet and treats ministers as more than mere Premier’s pawns. 

After a tumultuous first year in office Premier Ford’s embrace of populism, reflected in the sentiment “governing for the people” is running thin. We are not really certain what “populism” means, but it must surely include some element of popularity?  He has set records though; last month we reported that according to MainStreet Research, his rating was “falling harder and faster that than any incumbent premier has ever seen this soon after being elected.” Even if those who supported him had not lost their fervour, is this any way to govern? How did we get here? 

Former leader of the Ontario PCs, Patrick Brown, had a serious platform prior to his dramatic fall from grace. The hastily convened leadership convention which followed it saw Christine Elliot win the popular vote, but due to the mechanics of the party’s electoral system, Ford got the leadership. 

That’s how we got here: to a place where the person running our province can’t even make it to page two of his briefing notes. Ford should take note at both how quickly things can change and how others enjoy wide support from within the Conservative party.

By an unfortunate coincidence, we are at a time when the practice of cabinet-style government is on the wane and the extreme concentration of power (in this case in the premier’s office) is the norm. It’s a perfect storm really, pairing unbridled power with an unqualified, disinterested leader. To further cement the catastrophe, Ford selected Dean French as the Premier’s Office Chief of Staff. Though he is as unqualified as Ford, French was more engaged (unfortunately). He is rumoured to have lectured cabinet members on subjects such as the need to rise in the legislature to give standing ovations upon the Premier’s every utterance. French’s reckless use of the levers of power ultimately cost him his job. 

The actions of the Ford government in the first 15 months in office have demonstrably offended its audience. To campaign on the notion that Ontario was in a fiscal death-spiral and then deliver a budget that does not have austerity as its central focus indicates that the emergency was either forgotten or fabricated. 

How are PC members of the legislature who face their constituents in a little more than two years’ time going to justify the actions of this government? The electorate did not vote for the agenda Ford put in place now which is neither “progressive” nor “conservative”. Ford has pulled the carpet out from his own elected colleagues. Relentless attacks on everything — Toronto even has people in Wawa puzzled over the outpouring of hate. 

But what about PC back benchers and cabinet ministers, many of whom are professional and competent? What about the expert bureaucracy, who have served government of every stripe? It’s time to take advantage of all this talent, it’s time to press the pause button. The province should reverse course on cuts to education, its relentless attack on Toronto, its losing battle with Ottawa over cuts to carbon emissions, and its billion dollar battle with the Beer Store all to bring a six-pack to the 7-11. Cabinet can play a role in this reversal and help the government adopt a more modest tone: we hope they have listened, learned, and wish to chart a new path. It does not have to end in implosion. If Ford fails to widen his circle and allow others to do as they are elected and appointed to do, the Progressive Conservative Party should call a leadership convention and select a new leader. That person would automatically become the new premier, and the party and the province would be all the better for it.

READ MORE EDITORIALS: 

• EDITORIAL: Time for Ford to press “eject” (Summer 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Ford’s angry budget (May 2019)
• EDITORIAL: It’s not your private police force, Mr. Ford (Spring 2019)
• EDITORIAL: It’s hardly ‘for the students’ (Winter 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Blowing smoke on the climate file (Dec. 2018)
• EDITORIAL: This premier is not for the people (City Election 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Eight weeks lost to Ford’s madness (October 2018)
• EDITORIAL: A lost cause worth fighting for (Aug./Sept. 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Reclaiming our city (Summer 2018)
• EDITORIAL: City staff ignore bike lanes (July 2018)
• EDITORIAL: The market has no moral compass (Election Special 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Lessons to be learned from Excessive Force (Spring 2018)
• EDITORIAL: A social contract is a precious thing (March 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Intolerance leading to Quebec’s decline (Dec. 2017)
• EDITORIAL (Nov. 2017): Student safety suffers as trustees cave
• EDITORIAL: Pandering to religious intolerance (October 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Bike lanes, good for business (Fall 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Don’t sacrifice safety for political gain (August 2017)

No unity of purpose from arms of the city

By Terri Chu

Nearly a decade ago, a fire ravaged the beloved Children’s Storefront at 1079 Bathurst St. just south of Dupont. The lot has been sitting empty ever since, waiting for its next reincarnation. Now that Orchard Properties has a development proposal in the works that wait could be over. Like any development proposal there are problematic aspects, but the bigger problem is with the city and its lack of a coherency about climate change resiliency and how it is reflected in municipal decision-making.

Mayor John Tory likes to wax poetic about making the City of Toronto climate-resilient, but the city’s foot soldiers seem to be ignoring the memo. Trees are a vital part of climate change resiliency.

The proposal hopes to see a 5-storey mixed-use building with seven dwelling units, one commercial unit, and no parking spaces. It is a great spot to add more density, given the accessibility to public transit. However, if Orchard Properties gets the go-ahead to build as they wish – deeper and higher than what is currently allowed – a 75-year-old silver maple with three trunks which provides shade to six properties is more than likely to meet its end within the next decade.

The planned property design triggers rules for storm water retention and, in this case, involves the digging out of most of the root system of the tree. While we don’t know what the decision will be, we do know that the body that governs these decisions, the Committee of Adjustment, treats trees as neighbourhood nuisances. 

Mayor John Tory likes to wax poetic about making the City of Toronto climate-resilient, but the city’s foot soldiers seem to be ignoring the memo. Trees are a vital part of climate change resiliency. They soak up excess rain water (this means less flooding), they clean the air, and they provide pockets of enriched oxygen. Their usefulness should not be understated. Reforestation is a vital part to solving our climate crisis. Urban trees are as important as heavily forested areas as they do double duty in polluted environments. 

If the City of Toronto is serious about playing a role in the climate crisis, it needs to make sure that EVERY department in singing the same tune. It means that everyone needs to consider the climate crisis in decision-making, be it at the Committee of Adjustment or during sidewalk repairs. Taking the climate crisis seriously means that everyone who works for, represents, or makes decisions on behalf of the city, understands that Toronto will consider the impact of every decision, no matter how great or small, on our climate crisis and the ability of humans to continue living not just in the city but on the planet. Stop the speeches. Start the action. Every city employee and representative needs to start singing the same tune on climate to ensure Toronto moves forward on climate resiliency.

READ MORE BY TERRI CHU:

• GREENINGS: Not sure what’s worse, climate crisis or denying it? (Summer 2019)
• GREENINGS: Plastic ban born of necessity (May 2019)
• GREENINGS: Confronting consumption (Spring 2019)
• GREENINGS: Preventing chaos, mass starvation (Dec. 2018)
• GREENINGS: Municipalities should flex their green muscles (City Election 2018)
• GREENINGS: Short-term solutions haunt future (October 2018)
• GREENINGS: Urban under-representation (Aug./Sept. 2018)
• GREENINGS: Nurture the neighbourhood by cultivating green canopy (Summer 2018)
• GREENINGS: Results beg for electoral reform (July 2018)
• GREENINGS: Choosing the lesser evil (Election Special 2018)
• GREENINGS: Reduce, reuse, and then recycle (May 2018)
• GREENINGS: Car-free parenting is not rare (Spring 2018)
• GREENINGS: The science of board games (Mar. 2018)
• GREENINGS: Driving fuelled by unseen subsidies (Jan. 2018)
• GREENINGS: No solutions for nobody’s problem (Dec. 2017)
• GREENINGS: Celebrate science not milestones (Nov. 2017)
• GREENINGS: Down to the data (Oct. 2017)

City installs concrete blockade of entrance

By Juan Romero

A shop belonging to the chain Cannabis and Fine Edibles on Harbord Street has been raided by police numerous times over the summer. Similarly to other Café locations raided by police, these raids have proved largely ineffective — with the shops managing to be up and running in less than 24 hours following each one.

On July 9, Toronto police raided the Café location at 104 Harbord St., just off Spadina. In the operation they seized large amounts of marijuana and bags that presumably contained edibles. All the workers and a man who claimed to be a tenant from the second floor of the location were escorted out.

According to the director of investigation services for municipal licensing and standards Mark Sraga, the initial plan was to place concrete blocks in front of the entrance of the shop to prevent future break-ins; however, this did not happen as the overhead wires made it impossible for the crane to manoeuvre the blocks safely.

Soon after the raid a few black SUVs were spotted by residents and business owners in the area. Witnesses say these would frequently drop by the shop and pick up customers to presumably take them to different Café locations. On Wednesday, the Café location on Harbord was running like nothing happened.

Sraga was aware that it was very possible for re-entry to occur because of previous experiences with other Café shops that had been raided.

“We know they are not going to close up and go away, because they have done it in other locations where we’ve done closure orders and barring of entry,” he said following the raid.

Most of the raided locations have had tenants living above the shops. This prevents police from sealing the entrance by law, therefore making it easier for the workers to access the building and resume business once police officers are gone. It seems that the Café was using this strategy as a legal loophole.

However, this past June the provincial government passed amendments to patch the loophole. This caused the tenant at the Café on Harbord Jeff Brodie to be removed from the premises. He was very upset with the police and the city.

“I’ve lived above the Cafe for two years. I don’t have anything to do with downstairs, I work, I am a subcontractor, I get cheap rent here, I can’t find anywhere else to go tonight, I am sleeping on a park bench, I have nowhere else to go. And this is what the city has done to me? It’s not right,” said Brodie.

Residents of Harbord Street and surrounding areas have expressed mixed reactions to the situation. Café customers strongly support the establishment. A customer, who identified himself as Mark, said that it is a great place with excellent service.

“It’s a shame they want to shut this place down. I don’t get it, why is it legal for some and illegal for others? This whole thing just seems like persecution to me. I have been coming here for the last few months and I have nothing but praise for this place,” says Mark.

Harbord resident and former area business owner Sue Purvis expressed the belief that the dispensary is destroying the neighbourhood. In a statement sent to various councillors and to police, Purvis said that she is unimpressed by the authorities’ inability to close the Café down for good.

“During the few hours that they were closed they were able to regroup, and most importantly restock. How is this possible? Are police not stationed around the building to intercept these deliveries? Where is the stock coming from? They would not be able to source a legal grow op, so it must be illegal. Can these not then be seized?”

Mark Sraga told the press that they will continue to keep coming back to close Café locations if needed. He claims that the locations are selling an illegal product that poses a risk for people who are consuming it, as it is unclear as to what the products contain.

“We are making tremendous progress on the issue of compliance,” says Sraga. “And hopefully in the near future, when the new provincially licensed stores start opening, that will help.”

In early August the police raided the location again, placing concrete blocks at the entrance to prevent entry. Time will tell whether the closure will be permanent or not.

The best and the worst of our greenspaces

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.

Compiled by Juan Romero

Hillcrest Park

950 Davenport Rd.

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Grade: A+ (last year A+)

Reasons to go: Hillcrest Park is a sports-lovers paradise, there is always something fun to do. The park has a basketball court, a baseball field, four tennis courts, a tennis table made of stone, and an open area of grass where people can be found playing Frisbee. One side of the park is typically filled with sports activities, while there is lots of room for kids to play and for people to relax and sunbathe. Kids can enjoy the wading pool and park in their own little corner, while basketball is popular among teenagers. The park features an off-leash area for dogs securing its title as a park with variety.

Overheard: “Ohhhhhh!” A group of teenagers playing basketball, upon the ball falling in a puddle.

Did you know: The park was featured in the Toronto-set film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in 2010.

Vermont Square Park

819 Palmerston Ave.

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Grade: A- (last year A)

Reasons to go: Nestled in the quiet and peaceful Seaton Village, this park has a lot of features to grab your attention. Some standout pieces include the playground, sandbox, chess board picnic tables, the wading pool, huge ornamental rocks, and the stage. There is a lot of space for dogs to run around, seating for those looking to relax, and pirate ship-themed playground equipment that is popular among children. The park could use some maintenance at this point, patches of grass in front of the stage having faded away over time. Nonetheless, it is really enjoyable for people of all ages. Additionally, the ice-skating arena and daycare centre make the park a community hub for everyone.

Overheard: “The sharks, they wanna eat us!”  Two kids playing in the pirate ship-themed playground.

Did you know: The park was renovated in 2012; the new design included the wavy bench, the playground equipment, sandboxes, and stage.

Paul Martel Park

10 Madison Ave.

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Grade: F (last year D+)

Reasons to go: Paul Martel Park is more of a green space than a park, and one that requires more regular maintenance. For starters there is plenty of litter all over the area and the sign that usually sits at the front to point out the park’s name was taken down due to vandalism, but never replaced. This makes it look less appealing. On the plus side the location is pretty calm, not many cars pass by and, despite it being located right behind Spadina station, the sound of the buses isn’t too loud or disruptive. There are also plenty of benches to sit on. Overall this park seems to have been forgotten by the city.  

Overheard: Buses leaving and arriving at Spadina station.

Did you know: Paul Martel is an architect who has volunteered throughout the years to build parks in the community.

St. Alban’s Square Park

90 Howland Ave.

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Grade: A (last year B+)

Reasons to go: We would highly recommend paying a visit to St. Alban’s Square this summer. The park is perfectly balanced in every sense. There is a good amount of green space as well as a sidewalk right through the middle of the park with both shady and sunny areas and lots of benches. The overall atmosphere is very relaxing as it is in the middle of a residential area, so not many cars pass by. The park is clean and also full of people as it is a very attractive place to take a break and enjoy the outdoors. Yet even when a lot of people are there, its large size offers plenty of open space.

Overheard: A man talking on the phone and dogs barking.

Did you know: St. Alban’s Square Park used to be owned by the historic St. Alban’s Cathedral.

Euclid Avenue Parkette

711 Euclid Ave.

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Grade: F (last year F)

Reasons to go: It’s hard to find reasons to go, so we’ll just suggest that you don’t bother. There are three benches beside a patch of dirt pretending to be a trail, and that’s it. The“parkette”sits right in-between a house and a building so there is no view of anything. You likely wouldn’t notice it unless you looked for it, or knew it was there already. Also you would think that being hidden, the place would be calm, right? Wrong, because there is a parking lot across the street from it. The only good thing I could find to say about this parkette is that if you are looking for a place to sit in the shade, you could find it here. However, it really only serves this purpose for people walking by to sit down and take a break.

Overheard: Birds chirping and cars passing by.

Did you know: There are plenty of good restaurants just steps away on Bloor Street. Go there and enjoy the food instead. 

Christie Pits Park

750 Bloor St. West.

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Grade: A+ (last year A+)

Reasons to go: Christie Pits is one of the best parks in the Annex with something for everyone to enjoy. The park has seating areas, a playground, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and a pool. You can also walk across it using the many sidewalks that go across the park. It is just off Christie Station which makes accessibility very easy. It is a great spot to take your children to play, if you want to play sports, or if you just want to relax and enjoy the weather. Despite being beside Bloor Street, the park is deep enough for you to get away from the sound of traffic. Christie Pits Park is a must-go this summer.

Overheard: “Get Buckets!!” A teenager said while playing a game of 21 with his friend.

Did you know: Every Sunday night from June 30 to August 29, Christie Pits Park will host an outdoor film festival.

Jean Sibelius Park

50 Kendal Ave.

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Grade: A+ (last year B+)

Reasons to go: Jean Sibelius Park is a great spot to enjoy a picnic with the whole family. It has a big playground for children to enjoy, as well as washrooms and lots of places to sit including picnic tables. Most of the seating areas are in the shade, and they are well placed all over the area. The park is in a residential area so it has a pretty relaxing atmosphere as long as you are away from the playground. The park is clean and the benches, the playground, water fountains, and washrooms are all in good shape. The neat thing about the park is the balance between playground and green space.

Overheard: Children laughing and yelling on the playground.

Did you know: The park is named after Jean Sibelius, who was a highly influential Finnish composer in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Boswell Parkette

4 Boswell Ave.

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Grade: B (Last reviewed in 2017, B)

Reasons to go: Boswell Parkette sits at the dead end of Boswell Avenue. It is located where Boswell Avenue and Avenue Road meet, right behind a TTC stop. This parkette serves a good purpose for those waiting for their bus to arrive. There are plenty of places to sit despite its small size. Almost all of the parkette is well covered by massive trees which shade the area during the middle of the day. There are two walkways across the area which connect Boswell Avenue with Avenue Road, making it easier and faster for residents to cross between the two streets without having to go around. There is some litter by the actual bus stop but not in the parkette. This location can get a bit noisy due to traffic from Avenue Road.  

Overheard: The sound of a TTC bus beeping as its platform lowered for a rider to exit. 

Did you know: The parkette is named after Toronto’s 24th mayor, Arthur Radcliffe Boswell. He served one term from 1883 to 1884. 

Jay Macpherson Green

255 Avenue Rd.

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Grade: A- (last year: N/A) 

Reasons to go: Jay Macpherson Green is a great spot with lots of green space, trees, and a walkway across the park. It is easily accessible and you will find many birds and benches to sit on. It is very clean and this is a little surprising due to the fact that it sits beside a very busy street with a lot of pedestrian traffic. Jay Macpherson Green serves as a spot where you can sit and relax, as well as one where you can take your kids to play a game of catch. The level of noise coming off Dupont Street is the only thing that might make the Green unappealing. This park is located right in front of the Sergeant Russell Parkette which has been under renovation since last spring. Since Sergeant Russell is not currently open, Jay Macpherson can be a great alternative to go to this summer.  

Overheard: “I’ve already done 3 km today…” A man told his jogging partner while crossing the park. 

Did you know: Jay Macpherson was a well recognized Canadian poet, who received the Governor General’s Award for her poetry book The Boatman in 1958. 

Jesse Ketchum Park

1310 Bay St.

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Grade: A (last year: N/A) 

Reasons to go: It is spacious, there is lots of shade, lots of seating, and a good balance of green space and sidewalk. The first thing you will notice is the art structure sitting right in the middle of it. It is eye-catching and it draws your attention to the park. Then you will see the vast green space on offer, with various trees and lots of beautiful flowers in some areas. The seating is one of the best things, as there are many benches and they are well balanced and scattered across the area. If you enjoy playing soccer, Jesse Ketchum Park has a very well maintained turf field right behind the park itself, as well as some picnic tables. The park also sits beside Jesse Ketchum public school so during recess time it will get a little bit loud. Yet despite sitting on Bay Street, the traffic is not as loud as you would imagine. Most benches sit deep enough into the park that it makes it far enough for you to not be too bothered by the cars. Overall the park is mostly clean; there is some litter but not too much. 

Overheard: Children yelling and having fun during their lunch.

Did you know: Jessie Ketchum, who was a philanthropist in the early 1800s, was the first person to introduce sidewalks in Toronto. 

Walmer Road Parkette

227 Walmer Rd.

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Grade: C+ (last year: N/A) 

Reasons to go: There are positives and negatives to this parkette, some people will like it and some people won’t. It is located on Walmer Road very close to Casa Loma. In fact you can see part of Casa Loma from the benches at the parkette. The neighbourhood it sits in is extremely calm, I would say it is mostly local traffic that sporadically passes by. So if you are looking to just relax this is a great place. However, the parkette itself is very small, and it is even smaller this summer due to construction, which is taking up approximately one-third of an already small area. The parkette is somewhat hidden and it sits in the middle of the neighbourhood. There was a lot of litter, but the green space is quite nice and the flowers are very colourful. 

Overheard: Birds chirping

Did you know: Casa Loma was originally built to serve as the residence of Canadian financer and soldier Sir Henry Pellat. 

Wychwood Park 

76 Wychwood Ave.

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Grade: A (last reviewed in 2012, A+) 

Reasons to go: This is a great place to go with your kids. It has a huge playground with swings and even a splash pad. It has benches all around the playground for parents to look after their children. If you are just going by yourself and looking to relax then this park is also for you. There is a large green space on the other side of the park, which has benches, picnic tables, lots of trees and flowers, and is perfect to enjoy a relaxing time. The area as a whole is very clean and the green space is also great for dog owners, despite the fact that there is no official “off leash” area. The park is also home to Wychwood Barns, which hosts different events throughout the year, especially on weekends. Overall, it doesn’t matter what your plan is, Wychwood Park has something for everyone to enjoy. 

Overheard: “Go get it… good boy!!!!!!!!” A woman said to her golden retriever as she threw a ball for the dog to fetch. Did you know: The park is named after a forest in Oxfordshire County in south-east England, the birthplace of the park’s designer, Marmaduke Matthews.

READ MORE:

• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: Open spaces in the heart of the Annex (Summer 2019)
• NEWS: Huron-Washingon Parkette relocates while UTS expands (Spring 2019)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: The best and worst of local parks(Summer 2018)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: More attention to green spaces means parks are improving (July 2018)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: Parks on the fringe (AUGUST 2017)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: Open spaces in the heart of the Annex (July 2017)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: Survey reveals significant upgrades (June 2017)
• GRADING OUR GREENSPACE: Meet our parks supervisor (August 2016)
• Part two of our 2016 parks review (July 2016)
• NEWS: Renewing Margaret Fairley Park (JULY 2016)
• PART ONE: Green sanctuaries in the heart of the city (June 2016)
• Grading our Greenspace (2015)