Geary Avenue Park will be closed for construction beginning this spring. The park’s expansion will transform a segment of the hydro corridor running parallel to Geary Ave — between Delaware Ave and Westmoreland Ave — into new park space.
Streetscape improvements will link the expanded Geary Avenue Park to the existing Barlett Parkette at Salem Ave. Once complete, residents can expect the park to have a ton of new features:
- Entry plazas
- Better lighting
- A fenced, off-leash dog area
- A pet drinking fountain area
- An accessible path with custom pavement markings
- Various seating options, including benches, wood platform seats, loungers and accessible picnic tables
- An open lawn, meadow plantings and shrubs
- Widened sidewalks on some sections of Geary Ave
- New trees along the street
Construction is expected to be complete later this year and the park should reopen by the fall!
The expansion is part of the Green Line Implementation Plan — a proposed new linear park system (about 5 kilometres in length) within the Dupont hydro corridor — which will connect neighbourhoods and green spaces throughout midtown and west Toronto, enhancing safety and walkability within the area.
Creating a connected series of open spaces within this corridor has been a goal of the City of Toronto since before amalgamation. Community-driven activities held in recent years — like the ‘ideas’ competition led by Park People and Friends of the Green Line in 2012 — have created strong local interest in this initiative.
“Once realized, the Green Line will provide much needed park space for a number of neighbourhoods that it both passes through and connects—from Wiltshire Avenue and St. Clair in the north west to Davenport and Macpherson Avenue at the south east end, from the Corso Italia neighbourhood down to Casa Loma and the Annex,” the implementation plan states, adding that a continuous Green Line is an important east-west pedestrian route that supports the objectives of the Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan adopted by Council in May 2018.
“By turning the land in the hydro corridor into a more functional park with places to gather, sit and play, it’s actually turning the hydro corridor into a great community amenity,” said Jake Tobin Garrett, of Park People, in a previous article
According to the City, there are 45 land parcels that make up the Green Line, and connecting all 45 parcels is the long-term objective (although each new park will have its own public consultation process to determine programming and facilities).
The construction and revitalization of new and existing parks in the Green Line are guided by the Green Line Implementation Plan final report — you can read more about that here.
