Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was all smiles after unveiling the city’s latest urban park Thursday, climbing onto a jungle gym and playing with children at the latest downtown attraction.
Ford gathered with provincial and federal politicians under a Toronto underpass Thursday to celebrate the opening of Underpass Park, the city’s first park ever built under a highway.
Waterfront Toronto’s latest development is located in the West Don Lands, south of King Street East under the Eastern Avenue and Richmond/Adelaide overpasses.
It features a public art installation, playground, skateboarding park and basketball courts.
“Toronto is a city that is growing at a phenomenal rate,” Ford told reporters, as traffic rolled along streets between the park’s amenities.
“We have more high-rise buildings under construction than any other city in North America, and we are revitalizing our neighbourhoods one at a time. Many can be found along the waterfront.
“Toronto’s growth has brought forward the need to think about how best to use spaces in our city that might otherwise go unused. The Underpass Park is an excellent example of how we turn neglected space into a community hub.”
During the appearance, Ford joined a group of kids playing on one of the structures, climbing onto a rope gym as children shouted, “Go mayor, go mayor.”
Conservative MP Peter Van Loan and Soo Wong, Liberal MPP for Scarborough-Agincourt, also attended the unveiling and lauded the park as a unique urban space.
“Parks and open spaces, of course, are a vital part of the overall prosperity and quality of life envisioned by the residents of the West Don Lands community,” Van Loan told reporters.
Added Wong: “We have turned this formerly unused land into a unique and functioning space.”
Underpass Park is part of the redevelopment of the Toronto waterfront and is expected to play a role in connecting public space along the lakefront with communities north of the Gardiner Expressway.
“This unique park has transformed the derelict space beneath these underpasses into a bright and welcoming neighbourhood amenity, and a key public space in the West Don Lands community,” said Waterfront Toronto President John Campbell.
Campbell added that the underpass also acted as a roof for the park, making it a year-round attraction, usable in any type of weather.
A second portion of the park is currently under construction west of St. Lawrence Street and is expected to open next spring.
