{"id":54948,"date":"2016-05-24T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=54948"},"modified":"2016-05-24T16:34:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T20:34:15","slug":"54948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2016\/05\/24\/54948\/","title":{"rendered":"Brampton’s Etobicoke Creek: floods, concrete, and new public spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

The City of Brampton \u2014 Canada’s ninth largest municipality \u2014 was founded as a small community in the mid-19th\u00a0century, as the interior of Southern Ontario was opened up to settlement by immigrants from the British Isles and the United States.<\/p>\n

Buffy’s Corners, as Brampton\u00a0was originally known, was where Hurontario Street, an important\u00a0settlement road met the 5th Sideroad of\u00a0Chinguacousy Township and a little stream known as the Etobicoke Creek (once sometimes known as the Etobicoke River). The creek wasn’t powerful enough for mills to establish themselves along its banks, but it was still useful for local commercial uses.\u00a0Many of Peel’s early settlers arrived from Cumberland, England<\/a>;\u00a0the village of Brampton, incorporated in 1853, took its name from a small market\u00a0town\u00a0near Carlisle.<\/a><\/p>\n

The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856, the Credit Valley Railway in 1879, and the village’s status as the county seat for the newly established County of Peel saw Brampton grow into a regional centre\u00a0and\u00a0became a town in 1873. The town became famous for its many greenhouses, and Brampton became\u00a0known as “The Flower Town of Canada.” New commercial buildings befitting a booming county town were built in the Etobicoke Creek’s floodplain, even on top of the little waterway. By the 1940s, Brampton was a bustling town\u00a0with a population of about 6,000 and had a diversified economy, but was not\u00a0yet part of Toronto’s commuter shed.<\/p>\n

\"PN2014_10460\"<\/p>\n

Main Street North, March 1948.\u00a0Russell Cooper fonds, Region of Peel Archives\/PAMA<\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, by building its town centre around and on top on Etobicoke Creek, Downtown Brampton would annually flood during the spring snow melt and sometimes after major storms. Notable floods occurred at least once a decade \u2014 storms even claimed a lives in 1911, 1918, and 1943.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0a severe flood in March, 1948, pictured above, finally resulted in action. That year, up to six feet (1.8 metres) of water covered Main and Queen and caused nearly $500,000 in damage ($5.6 million in 2016 dollars), but no fatalities.<\/p>\n

Between 1950 and 1952, the Etobicoke Diversion Channel\u00a0was built to the east, around the Downtown core, between Church and Wellington Streets. The diversion saved\u00a0Downtown Brampton from future flooding \u2014 particularly Hurricane Hazel in 1954 \u2014 but it ended up sealing the creek off from the downtown core and even some of the\u00a0parks that line the creek. Several houses were demolished, and streets\u00a0were either re-routed or closed off. The diversion channel is completely fenced off, and “no trespassing” signs are found throughout.<\/p>\n

Some ghosts of Etobicoke Creek’s old route remain throughout Downtown Brampton.\u00a0A retaining wall on Main Street south of Wellington is the most visible remnant, but the topology betrays the location of the old creek. Queen Street leads uphill in both directions from the historic Four Corners at Main Street, and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, built in the early 1960s, is located in a lush lowland that was once part of\u00a0Etobicoke\u00a0Creek’s path.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1451-002\"<\/p>\n

Retaining wall on the east side of Main Street South. The creek ran between the street and the houses in the background.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, I led a Jane’s Walk through Downtown Brampton, discussing the town’s soggy history and highlighting the challenges the concrete channel creates as well as long-term plans to reintegrate the diversion into the public realm and further improve flood protection for Brampton’s downtown core.\u00a0One of the best parts of a good Jane’s Walk is when local residents participate and share their knowledge; one of the things that I learned is that fish, including\u00a0freshwater salmon, are returning to Etobicoke Creek, but fish can not navigate through the diversion channel, especially\u00a0where the water drops through a sluice<\/a> near the railway corridor. At the very least, a fish ladder is required here.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1446-002\"<\/p>\n

On the Etobicoke Creek Jane’s Walk\u00a0on May 7, 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

South of the diversion channel, Etobicoke Creek is located in a lovely ravine; a multi-use\u00a0path extends south to Steeles Avenue\u00a0and is\u00a0completely separated from auto traffic. North of Church Street, a path continues all the way past Brampton’s city limits and into Valleywood, a residential subdivision in the Town of Caledon. The diversion channel is a gap in between; trail users must ascend to city streets to continue along the route.<\/p>\n

In preparing for the walk, I spotted a great blue heron; I was later told during the walk that it wasn’t an uncommon sighting. This is a great ravine \u2014 one of many great sections\u00a0of “Accidental Parkland” that wind through the Greater Toronto Area.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IMG_1392-001\"<\/p>\n

Happily, The City of Brampton is currently proposing major changes<\/a> to the diversion channel revitalize Etobicoke Creek through Downtown Brampton. It would\u00a0create\u00a0new public spaces while further mitigating any potential flooding in Downtown Brampton, which remains a floodplain. Improving the flood control measure will\u00a0encourage new development in the east side of the Downtown Core.<\/p>\n

Renderings show new public paths, terraced gardens and green spaces, with cafes, restaurants and other businesses alongside the creek. Conceptual\u00a0mid-rise and high-rise developments are shown, part of a larger plan to rejuvenate\u00a0and intensify Downtown Brampton. The concrete channel will require major repairs in any case;\u00a0the proposed improvements to the public realm and flood control measures are an exciting project.<\/p>\n

\"Etobicoke<\/p>\n

Conceptual drawing of revitalized Etobicoke Creek\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, last year Brampton City Council declined to build a fully-funded light rail transit (LRT) line up Main Street to Downtown Brampton<\/a>; for now, the Hurontario LRT will terminate at Steeles Avenue. Some community groups \u2014 such as One Brampton<\/a> \u2014 are advocating for the rejected Main Street route, while some city councillors and local citizens are pushing for an alternative alignment through the Etobicoke Creek ravine<\/a>. City staff and transit consultants looked at this option and rejected it due to difficulty of construction through a floodway, incompatibility with existing official plans, and its\u00a0indirect routing. As the\u00a0City of Brampton is both looking at revitalizing a great local resource, building a transit corridor through the Etobicoke Creek ravine\u00a0probably isn’t such a great idea.<\/p>\n

Despite the LRT controversy, there is\u00a0plenty of opportunity for Downtown Brampton, an often overlooked urban centre with a wealth of heritage buildings and some nice public spaces such as Gage Park and Garden Square. It’s encouraging to see local support for improving Etobicoke Creek through Downtown Brampton and to meet engaged residents\u00a0to discuss the future of this historic urban centre.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1384-001\"<\/p>\n

Etobicoke Creek looking north to the start of the diversion channel, just south of the Canadian National Railway tracks<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The City of Brampton \u2014 Canada’s ninth largest municipality \u2014 was founded as a small community in the mid-19th\u00a0century, as the interior of Southern Ontario was opened up to settlement by immigrants from the British Isles and the United States. 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