It is an indisputable fact that in most locations throughout Toronto, a person is never more than 15 walking minutes from a river or tributary. All that water — yet when asked, less than half of Toronto residents were aware the city was situated in six watersheds. So prevalent are the watercourses meandering throughout Toronto that besides identifying as a "City of Neighbourhoods," Toronto could just as accurately identify as a "City of Streams."<\/p>\n
The fact that citizens fail to recognize the vast network of tributaries flowing all around them may be because, historically, little regard was shown in maintaining these water systems. Until recently, the Don River had experienced years of neglect. Smaller tributaries like Taylor Massey Creek became hemmed by development, resulting in portions being diverted into stone-filled, steel-wired culverts. Then there is the labyrinth of buried creeks, like Taddle, Russell, and Garrison, entombed in concrete channels a century ago. Today they course unnoticed beneath the city's core.<\/p>\n
Thanks to signage being installed in the eastern section of the city, residents are being introduced to a geographic feature that has been hidden right under their noses. Recently, distinct wave-shaped signs have appeared along arterial routes intersecting rivers, creeks, and streams. Known as Watercourse Identification Signage, this undertaking is the result of years of work by the Don Watershed Regeneration Council (DWRC). Launched on Earth Day 2009, each sign displays the tributary's name, plus the Don Watershed and City of Toronto logos. The DWRC is working in cooperation with two departments within the City of Toronto: Parks, Forestry and Recreation produce signs at their in-house facilities, and then the Transportation division installs them.<\/p>\n
The signs are intended to increase public awareness of the various watercourses flowing throughout communities, in the hope that recognition will result in greater stewardship of local water resources. To date, 64 signs have been installed identifying ten tributaries. Signs have also appeared in Rouge Park and the Town of Markham. As part of the 2010 operating budget, the City of Toronto intends to develop a phased-in strategy to introduce watercourse signage to the remaining five watersheds. Adele Freeman, director of Watershed Management for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, reports that the watercourse signage project has been well received by the public.<\/p>\n
As for that network of creeks hidden beneath the city's core, there are no plans to identify them with similar signage. But everywhere else, citizens are being reminded that water is all around them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"