Greening Of Toronto?

What were they thinking?

Mount Pleasant Parkette blah-de-blah

Enzo Di Matteo

Mind-bending riddle: when is a park not a park? When it’s a boulevard.

Efforts to reclaim orphaned green spaces have led to the creation of some curious parks (in name only, it should be stressed). Put up a sign, plant a few flowers, maybe a tree and – presto – another half-hearted attempt at growing green consciousness. See Mount Pleasant Parkette. The strip of green between Balliol and Davisville is really a boulevard that was claimed as parkland a few years back but now functions more like a glorified bus stop.

The strip boasts as many benches as fire hydrants (one), if we exclude the bench dedicated to the class of 2008 by a nearby college. Its designation as a park is a bit of a mystery even to the local councillor.

What we do know: houses used to occupy the site until about the mid-1920s, when large lots were severed into smaller ones and then cleared to make room for a streetcar line and, later, the arrival of automobiles pushing development north. The irony is that the space today is inaccessible, held hostage on both sides by the car traffic that led to its creation decades ago.

How about a community garden to enliven the surroundings? 

NOW