City councillor candidate wants to build a lift bridge to the Toronto Islands
A candidate for city council wants to build a lift bridge that would connect Toronto’s Port Lands to the Islands.
The proposal came from April Engelberg, a candidate for Spadina-Fort York.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of people while working on the campaign and what I’ve noticed is people’s top priority is park access,” she told CTV News Toronto over the phone.
“Given that the Rail Deck Park is not happening the way we initially envisioned because the city doesn’t own the air rights and given that Ontario Place is getting redeveloped in a way that favours the private sector…this is an opportunity for Toronto to make available its massive, largest public park to all Torontonians for free.”
The idea would be to build a 250-metre bridge for pedestrian and cyclist use connecting Ward’s Island to the Port Lands.
Engelberg says a pedestrian could walk the bridge in a minute or two while a cyclist could get across in under that time.
The bridge would also have the capacity to lift and allow large shipping or cargo vessels to pass through the area.
Engelberg says she’s done a lot of research to ensure the proposal is possible and estimates the infrastructure could cost between $10 million and $15 million depending on which level of governments pitch in.
As it stands now, residents wanting to visit the Islands have to take a ferry across Lake Ontario at a cost of about $9 for an adult return trip.
“Our ferry system is old, expensive and slow,” Engelberg said while adding that Torontonians should be able to access the Islands for free.
“It’s about making the most equitable use of the green space that city actually owns.”
Toronto's municipal elections are scheduled to be held on Oct. 24.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.