One of my favorite public spaces in the city is easily Sugar Beach at the foot of Jarvis Street. So I couldn't resist sharing this before and after tweet by Waterfront Toronto. Sugar Beach turns 10 years old next week. It's nearly a teenager.

For those of you who were around and paying attention a decade ago, there was a bit of controversy over the cost of this park -- specifically its pink umbrellas. The budget for the park was $14 million and each umbrella cost $11,000.

It's one of those things that's easy to single out and make a big deal out of -- if that's what you're trying to do. "How much? $11,000 for a candy pink beach umbrella? Come on."

But as Waterfront Toronto explained in this blog post from 2014, each umbrella was fabricated out of a solid piece of fiberglass and was designed to withstand hurricane winds, as well as a good old fashioned Toronto winter. They also serve as lighting for the beach at night.