An extended rail corridor, summer and winter pathways and restaurants along the bank of the Don River are part of the winning vision in the Lower Don Lands Design Competition.
The model by an architect team led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates was announced Tuesday night at the Royal Ontario Museum.
"The winning design represents a bold innovative approach to naturalizing the mouth of the Don River and transforming a long-neglected area into sustainable new parks and communities," said Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation chairman Mark Wilson.
"With this design, the Lower Don Lands stands to become one of the most remarkable places on Toronto's revitalized waterfront
The mouth of the Don River is the centerpiece of the design. By moving the river's mouth from the Keating Channel to Lake Ontario, the scheme reasserts the river's presence in the city and makes the river an iconic identity for the Lower Don Lands, the corporation said.
The design will have cross-country ski trails in the winter and pathways in the summer. Restaurants will also line the banks of the Don River.
The Lower Don Lands run from Parliament Street East to the Don Roadway, and from the rail corridor south to Commissioner Street.
Mayor David Miller says the design will be a critical link between the new waterfront communities.
"It's ingenious, it re-naturalizes the mouth of the Don River, and people have been fighting for 30 years to clean up the Don," Miller told CTV News after the winner was announced.
"This project ... allows the Don to clean itself naturally and it creates great neighbourhoods."
The entry also calls for:
- A new channel to be dug to control spring flooding;
- Extending the light rapid transit line on Queens Quay and Cherry Street and building new rail line along Commissioners Street;
- Building new homes; and
- The creation of lakefront trails;
An environmental assessment will take about 18 months to complete. Officials said construction on the estimated $150 million project could begin in 2 � years.
