Don Valley gets corporate help for green makeover

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

Thestar.com
Oct. 18, 2016
By David Rider

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, announced the project Tuesday morning, noting that private benefactors have given $3.4 million toward a $5 million goal for initial efforts to improve access to the ravine.

Those donors include Andy Chisholm and Laurie Thomson, the Jackman family, Judy and Wilmot Matthews, Kelly and Sen. Michael Meighen and Trans Canada Trails.

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.

Tory said that parks staff will soon set wheels in motion for city council to consider making the ravine an official City of Toronto park. That would mean an unknown increase in annual maintenance costs, he acknowledged, but said the city needs to make investments in public spaces.

Tory also welcomed wealthy Torontonians aiming donations at city initiatives, in addition to the more traditional targets of hospitals and universities.

Judy and Wilmot Matthews’ donation for the Don Valley project comes on top of $25 million they pledged for the Bentway, a revitalization of drab grey space under the Gardiner Expressway.

On Twitter, Councillor Gord Perks criticized city’s reliance on private charity to fund parks, saying public money should be used to eliminate the possibility of wealthy people having control over public space.

Tory, however, welcomed the trend, saying it benefits all Torontonians, and added he hopes donors and corporations will open their wallets to help make a reality his proposed rail deck park over the downtown train corridor.

Parks spokesman Matthew Cutler said of Tuesday’s announcement that, rather than creating a new park, the city is “reframing how we and the public understand the space.”

The changes will not add any expenses to the operating budget for parks, forestry and recreation, Cutler said.