[URBAN NOTE] "Proposals could add ‘significant’ new park space at Bathurst and Front"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Jennifer Pagliaro notes a very good proposal for a new park on Bathurst below Fort York.

The King-Spadina neighbourhood is poised to get a significant boost in park space if two proposals along Front St. W. are approved at city hall.

The pitch for a new 2.3-acre park at Bathurst and Front streets is the latest attempt to clear open space in the increasingly crowded and parks-deficient downtown core.

The move from Councillor Mike Layton would turn a vacant city-owned property that’s sometimes used as a parking lot into public space.

The west-end neighbourhood has recently been subject to much attention as staff study the possibility of decking over the rail corridor from Bathurst St. to Blue Jays Way to create a new park.

[. . .]

In the interim, Layton, who plans to introduce the plan for the 28 Bathurst St. site at Toronto and East York Community Council on Tuesday, says the proposed park is a “great deal” for the city, which already owns the land.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know this is probably a better deal than purchasing land or suspending a park over something else,” he said.