Local Park Update

Dear Neighbours,

A growing city needs room to breathe, relax, and play.

As the towers rise and fill up near Yonge, we require local parks, both to keep us green and cool, and to build good public realm for everyone.

Luckily, along the Duplex axis, four new parks are coming. The map here shows where they will be.

1. We all know the famous line from Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” For once, things are going the other way. Three quarters of the Castlefield Green P lot will be a new park. Deputy Mayor Colle has worked hard to make this happen.

2. The big development at 2400 Yonge, north of Anne Johnston Health and the fire hall, ceded land in its northwest corner to Toronto, for a park on Roselawn.

These two parks are in the works already. In perhaps three years they will be ready.

3. The developer of two new towers at 500 Duplex ceded the land under the present outdoor parking lot there to the city, for a public park on Montgomery. This awaits the completion of a construction not yet started.

4. Very gradually, the city is buying houses on the lands between Montgomery and Helendale. When developers cannot put parks on site, they feed a general fund, available to buy houses willing to sell. In the long run, a park will fill the whole block, west of the Station K-Montgomery Square tower.

EPRA and its local allies seek your ideas on what these parks should do both for us, and for nature. Please email us with your thoughts.