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Joe Cressy wants new downtown parkland moved to head of the queue

'I have condo applications coming in every week,' Joe Cressy says

CBC.ca
Sept. 6, 2016
By Mike Smee

A downtown city councillor launched an attempt Tuesday to speed up the creation of new parkland in the city's core, where a booming population is outstripping the creation of new greenspace.

Coun. Joe Cressy (Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina) drafted a motion calling on the city to look into ways of planning and financing two downtown parks.

One is near the corner of John and Richmond streets. The other is "Rail Deck Park," a much grander project envisioned by Mayor John Tory that made headlines earlier this summer. It would span the waterfront railway corridor between Bathurst and Blue Jays Way - an area of about 8.3 hectares.

The motion was passed unanimously by the government management committee.

"We have all sorts of ideas, but we're now ready to move," Cressy said after the meeting. "So it's time to move forward with the dollars and cents."

Cressy said the population in two neighbourhoods in his ward - King-Spadina and City Place - has exploded from just 945 people in 1996 to almost 50,000 now, and could hit 70,000 in 25 years. Yet on a city scale used to measure the amount of parkland per thousand residents, those neighbourhoods hit rock bottom.

New condo applications pouring in

"I have condo applications coming in every week," he said.

The city has been moving forward on his plan for a new downtown park near the corner of John and Richmond streets for years. But Tuesday morning, he asked that staff look into the possibility of adding the mayor's much bigger project to the mix, as it examines costs, funding and scheduling.

Cressy said the city could find the money to buy enough land for both parks. In his ward alone, he says he has accumulated about $20-million for the creation of park space. But he also cited a second fund that contains money earmarked for new parks all across the city, which contains about $100-million.

Cressy said that money could be directed to parks in his ward, because his residents have the greatest need.

Downtown parkland could cost $75-million an acre

There have not been any solid cost estimates done yet for either park, but Cressy said the cost of land in downtown Toronto is currently between $50-million and $75-million an acre.

The Rail Deck Park plan will be up for discussion at the executive committee meeting on Sept. 22. Cressy wants staff to return with recommendations on his motion by January at the latest.