Richmond Hill gives go-ahead to 'destination park'

Park to focus on astronomy, environment and cultural heritage

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 3, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

Richmond Hill councillors gave the green light to a master plan they hope will turn the David Dunlap Observatory lands into a four-season destination park.

The plan for the 40-hectare site, located northwest of Bayview and 16th Avenue, focuses on astronomy, the environment and cultural heritage and includes walking paths, an amphitheater and a self-illuminating pathway.

The project is expected to cost approximately $54 million over 15 to 20 years, with construction to begin in a few years.

The DDO park will be a “treasured place” in the GTA, Mayor Dave Barrow said, one that embodies discovery, education, sustainability and inclusion.

“People will come to visit Canada’s historic observatory, celebrate the stars and enjoy acres of natural parkland.”

Key features of the master plan include minimizing impact to the natural areas and higher intensity areas with tennis courts, a skating trail and a central fountain plaza.

In creating the master plan, town staff heard from more than 275 people through a community consultation process that included workshops, interviews and surveys.

Plans approved by councillors this month call for a trail system, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the CNR rail line and a self-illuminating “Star Path” (using phosphorescent aggregate that glows at night and won’t cause light issues for the observatory). There will be a restored and enhanced observatory, a garden with elements of the original heritage landscape plan and small outdoor amphitheater; restored farmhouse, local museum, indoor garden, a skating trail that winds through meadow and woodland, public art and playground constructed of natural materials, and a central fountain.

Four tennis courts are proposed for north of Elvis Stojko arena. Town staff will also study the feasibility of a planetarium on the site.

The DDO property is 189 acres bordered by Hillsview Drive, Bayview Avenue, 16th Avenue and the Canadian National Railway Bala Line.

Jessie Donalda Dunlap purchased the property, once the site of a 19th century farmstead, and donated it to the University of Toronto as a memorial to her husband David Alexander Dunlap, who was an avid astronomer.

The U of T constructed the observatory in 1935 and from 1935 to the early 1970s, the observatory was at the forefront of Canadian astronomical research.