Torontoist » Parks

A New Park Plan for the City Within a Park

While the City's 2012 budget reveals reduced services in Toronto's parks, it's been holding public consultations on a new Parks Plan that will provide guidance for the next five years.

On a Thursday night last week, park-loving Torontonians found themselves gathered around a collection of tables in the gymnasium at Wellesley Community Centre for the last of four public consultation sessions the City conducted to develop its new Parks Plan. The five-year strategic plan will touch on everything from park acquisition to management to the [...]

The Evolving Landscape of St. James Park

The presence and removal of Occupy Toronto are only the latest in a series of many changes in this history-rich site's appearance.

With the eviction of Occupy Toronto, St. James Park will gradually return to its former, emptier condition. But the temporary landscaping changes the protesters created with their signs, tents, and yurts did not constitute the first physical redesign of the park. Over the course of the past 50 years, as this gallery shows, the site [...]

One Saturday Afternoon at the New Sherbourne Common

Hemmed in by multi-lane roadways, a parking lot, and a construction site, the freshly completed Sherbourne Common, Toronto’s new waterfront public space, seems strangely orphaned from the city. Don’t be fooled. If Sherbourne Common seems a bit like an oasis amidst industrial land now, the hope is that in a few years time it will be at the heart of a thriving new waterfront community.

Scene: Sherbourne Common North

WHAT: The northern portion of Sherbourne Common—the park that you, dear readers, helped name—is now open for frolicking. Its distinctive water features are flowing, and a few of our Flickr Pool photographers went by over the weekend to check it out.

All Aboard the Gravy Train: Nature, Parks, and the Toronto Environment Office

"Gravy":

The whole notion of parks and environment. From the report's introduction: "While some services within the two programs are being delivered at levels somewhat below standard, the majority fall into the Standard+ category. Furthermore, the vast majority of standards have been set by Council or management. As a result, the Committee may consider reducing levels of service and reviewing set standards in order to realize cost savings." The report later notes that "Toronto has less parkland per capita than other Ontario cities, and spends more per hectare of parkland to maintain it, both of which are consistent with the much higher population density," and that 59 per cent of us visit a park at least once a week.

Cherry Blossoms in High Park

For some people the first sign of spring comes when bars open their patios. For others it’s signaled by the Good Friday parade. But for many, spring starts when the grove of cherry trees in High Park blossom and thousands of people rush to take in the spectacular scene, thrusting cameras and children (and this [...]

Citizens Engaged at Toronto’s First Park Summit

Photo by Reza Vaziri from the Torontoist Flickr Pool At one point during the inaugural Toronto Park Summit, a woman stood up and explained that she had a problem. There was a small park in her neighbourhood with a poorly designed drinking fountain that needed to be replaced because it was always filled with sand. [...]

What It Is And What It Should Be: Parks

What if, in Toronto, “great” was the only acceptable standard? What It Is And What It Should Be thinks about ways to improve the cityspace, a few bits at a time. References: Werk Magazine, January 1973, Der Golem von Niki de St-Phalle Dwell Magazine, May 2007, Structured Play

Sherbourne Common South Makes the Waterfront a Little Greener

Yet another chunk of Toronto’s waterfront has received a people-friendly overhaul. Earlier this morning, Waterfront Toronto held a grand opening for Sherbourne Common South, the southern half of a new waterfront green-space at the foot of Sherbourne Street, which Torontoist readers helped name. The northern half of the park is still under construction, and is [...]

The Annex Opens Its Tiniest Park For the Second Time

Gwendolyn MacEwen park used to be little more than a trash-strewn traffic island at the intersection of Walmer Road and Lowther Avenue in the Annex. There were a few decrepit benches there as a concession to anyone who felt like braving traffic to wander through, but the only habitual visitors were pigeons. Yesterday, during an [...]

Z’s By the C Brings Sweet Dreams to West Queen West

Folks napping in the space for a proposed park near the corner of Lisgar Street and Queen West. Late last week, we reported that two Calgary artists were working with The Theatre Centre to host Z’s by the C, a public napping project that has toured across Europe and North America. This Saturday and Sunday [...]

Sherbourne Commons is now Sherbourne Common

Sherbourne Common on Saturday, May 29. Photo by Joel Charlebois/Torontoist. Last week, Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation department quietly settled the fierce debate about whether the new park sitting at Sherbourne’s foot—whose new name was chosen by you—should be Sherbourne Commons (which is plural, and could describe the park’s north and south halves) or Sherbourne [...]