[URBAN NOTE] "Don Valley gets corporate help for green makeover"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's David Rider reports on a new municipal initiative to create a better park in the Don Valley that leaves me a bit concerned.

The sprawling Don Valley ravine is getting a boost from private-sector donors to help transform it into more inviting and accessible parkland for Torontonians.

Mayor John Tory and Evergreen, the charity that turned a former brick factory into the valley’s environmental and educational showpiece, will reveal at 11 a.m. Tuesday the donors who have pledged millions of dollars toward the project.

Tory’s office said Tuesday the city has, since 2012, spent $18 million to help turn the Lower Don Trail into “a signature parkland at the centre of the city stretching from Corktown Common to Pottery Road.”

Improvements have included new entry points to the ravine, widened trails, the Belleville underpass, Pottery Rd. bridge, Bayview multi-use trail and art installations. Next spring, the city will add “way-finding signage” to help people navigate the valley.

In 2014, city council told parks staff to work with Evergreen to raise third-party funding for more improvements and community engagement. Tory will announce the results of those efforts.