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As the West Don Lands neighbourhood continues to take shape, Waterfront Toronto is being forced to reconcile with the unique challenges of the area. One such challenge has been how the area will interact with the elevated overpass that carries Richmond, Adelaide and Eastern Ave through its heart. To the north of the overpass will be a Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) project and the River City condo development, while the heart of the new neighbourhood, including the athlete’s village for the Pan-Am games and the expansive new Don River Park will be built to the south. Thus, ensuring that the overpass does not become a barrier will be an important element of the neighbourhood’s success.<\/p>\n
Mitigating the negative affects of the overpass will not be easy as there are significant psychological misgivings about such dark spaces with low ceilings. Underpass Park aims to address both the problems and importance of the site, and plans are very promising. Construction on the 2.5 acre site will begin in May and will cost $5.3 million with completion slated from Spring of next year.<\/p>\n
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Three areas will define Underpass Park, two covered by the structure above and one with a large amount of light, divided by St Lawrence Street and River Street running through the park. The open area, at the west of the site, between the Richmond and Adelaide ramps, will be a community garden and leisure space, taking advantage of its natural light. Plans here call for the creation of garden plots and public chess tables. The middle area between St Lawrence and River will be a community gathering space featuring a large public art installation, children’s play equipment, concessions and open space. The commission for public art in the space has been granted to Toronto’s Paul Raff. The final, eastern most area of the site, will extend up to the Don River flood burm and will be devoted to sports with two half courts for basketball and a ball hockey court. Interestingly, space will be left in the far east of this area to see what the community will do with it.<\/p>\n
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Map of\u00a0 plans for the West Don Lands with Don River Park at the bottom right. The existing overpasses are represented in faint lines<\/em><\/p>\n Aside from providing things to do, in the long term creating an appropriate feeling in the space under the overpasses will be essential to making the space work. Planners have gone through great length to ensure this is the case. LED lighting will be installed along the bottom of the current structure that can be adjusted to find the appropriate levels of light. Designers noted that having too much light could make the space as undesirable as having too little.<\/p>\n Great attention has also been paid to details in the finish. Plantings have been carefully selected to be resistant to high salt levels and paving treatments will recycle pebbles from Ship’s ballast dumped in the area. Glass walls will help mitigate noise from the park without reducing visibility. In terms of safety, designers hope bringing people into the park will enhance the feeling of safety; emphasizing “visibility, sightlines, lights and people” as the prime safety features. Finally, they also note the park’s position under the overpass shield it from weather and perhaps make is more desirable throughout much of the year.<\/p>\n The site as it appears today<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>Perhaps one of the few downsides to the plan is that it seems to ensure the continued existence of these ramps. Designers referred to the overpasses as “Something that exits, something that’s going to stay there for a long time.” While it may be easy to be dismayed by this, it’s important to remember that these overpasses are not part of the Gardiner itself. Designers of the park note that if the Gardiner is torn down between Jarvis and the Don River, then the access to Richmond St will become even more important in diverting traffic flow.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4042\/4430196230_3b32f8de83.jpg\")
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