Corp Comm Connects

Neglected by the city, this parkette has gone from a green oasis to a weed-choked wasteland

Thestar.com
June 8, 2021

A tiny parkette that was bursting with shrubbery is now home to a bumper crop of thistles, bare patches of ground and withered bushes.

One of the things that Toronto does well is transforming small public spaces into attractive areas filled with greenery and perennials, to soften the harsh concrete and asphalt that defines the urban streetscape.

But the city is not always as attentive to the ongoing care needed to keep them thriving, which is the case at a small parkette on the northwest corner of O’Connor Drive and Coxwell Avenue.

Ted Kalaboukis emailed to say the city did a nice job of turning the space into a pleasing oasis at a busy intersection, but has since ignored it to the point where it’s a net negative to the neighbourhood.

After sewer pipe construction a few years back, “this corner was landscaped and it was quite pretty,” he said. “However, it seems it has been totally forgotten. It is now full of noxious weeds, dead or dying bushes, and is a real eyesore of our Old East York community.”

Kalaboukis said he reported it to 311 in late May “and they gave a 3-6 week timeline to take a look. With so many people with allergies, including my wife, and it being such a prominent visible location, it is really sad that this has been left forgotten and abandoned.”

I went there and found large swaths of the parkette filled with tall thistles and other weeds, while many of the bushes planted by the city have turned brown and are dying, if not already dead.

Inlaid brick in a path that surrounds the green space on two sides is starting to collapse in one spot, while its periphery is marked by patches of bare ground that is filling in with weeds.

I scrolled back on Google Street View images of the corner to 2015, when it was first planted. It still looks reasonably good in a 2018 image, although the weeds are creeping in.

Images from last fall confirm that some of the shrubs were dying then, which seems to have gotten worse this year. It’s fair to say that the city has neglected this space for some time now.

STATUS: I suggested in a note to the city that the space could use some tender loving care and got the following reply:

“The parkette space at the northwest corner of O’Connor Ave and Cowell Ave is public space. City staff are investigating the location to have the paving stones made safe and to determine other required maintenance for the plants and green space. Staff are planning the summer maintenance schedule for all green spaces and will ensure this location is included.”