Toronto Mayor John Tory announced private funding of The Don River Valley Park – which will be the centrepiece of Toronto’s downtown: a 200-hectare ravine Superpark spanning “south of Gerrard Street to Corktown Common… reaching west toward the revitalized Regent Park and east towards Riverside”. Riverside BIA was on location to watch the Mayor’s announcement and meet the funders.
Here is an excerpt from the media release about the announcement:
TORONTO, ONTARIO (October 18, 2016) – Today at a news conference at Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto Mayor John Tory, joined by Evergreen CEO Geoff Cape, and the Don River Valley Park Campaign Chair Andy Chisholm, patrons and supporters, marked the ‘First Mile’ of the city-wide ravine strategy.
The Don River Valley Park project, which started as a multi-year public and private fundraising campaign launched last year by Evergreen in partnership with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority, aims to create a ‘super park’, a massive 480-acre green space spanning from Evergreen Brick Works south to the mouth of Lake Ontario.
With this announcement, Mayor Tory and Ms. Romoff request that the Parks and Environment Committee study the feasibility of designating this area a City of Toronto Park and identifying next steps in the Lower Don Trail Master Plan.
“Toronto was built around its ravines. They give the city a unique identity that has defined how our city has grown. This project allows us to celebrate our ravines, talk about the important role they play for our residents, our resilience and our quality of life,” said Mayor Tory. “With the help of private donors, we will continue to make improvements to the Lower Don Valley like new way-finding signage and entry points that will help residents access and navigate this park.”
“These innovative partnerships are at the heart of building thriving and livable cities,” said Evergreen CEO Geoff Cape. “Thank you to our donors and partners for their extraordinary support and dedication in giving Torontonians and visitors to our great city access to the incredible green space that is the Lower Don.”
