On Sunday evening, I rode out to the Port Lands area (of Toronto) to check out the new park that just (partially) opened up. Named Biidaasige Park (pronounced "bee-daw-si-geh"), it is the largest park to open in the city in many decades.
The first phase is just over 50 acres, and an additional 10 acres is planned to open next year. It houses 5,000+ trees, 77,000+ shrubs, and over two-million herbaceous plants. In terms of spaces, there are picnic areas, a playground with ziplines, off-leash dog parks, trails, and a pebble landing where you can launch "non-motorized personal watercraft." (Is it safe to swim?)
I was impressed when I rode through it. It's a huge quality of life upgrade for the city. But of course, what's most impressive is that the island it sits on (Ookwemin Minising) is the result of a $1.4 billion investment in flood protection. One that now unlocks the Port Lands area for development. That's up next.
After my ride, I did the customary things. I made a protein shake (sidebar: I recently added creatine to the mix), shared my ride to Strava, and then tweeted out this video. The tweet got reshared a few times and so I received a bunch of replies. And whenever this happens, which isn't often, I'm always a bit taken back by the type of comments. A lot of them are negative.
In this case, people commented on the lack of trees (see number of trees planted above), said it would be filled with tents in a week, and even remarked that it would soon be overrun with Indian people. I won't get into the specifics on this latter point, but there was more to it.
Now, I know that this is what happens on the internet. And I don't take any of it personally. I've also done my fair share of community meetings over the decades where I've had tomatoes thrown at me. But it always makes me think: Is this what is going on in people's heads as they go about their day?
To each their own, of course. But I am of the opinion that perspective matters. The world gives you what you give it. If you go about your day thinking negative thoughts, then eventually it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If, on the other hand, you show up with positivity, good things will happen to you.
Here's a silly example.
On my ride over on Sunday, I ended up beside a guy who was similarly suited up on a road bike. He was giving off the "I'm a serious and intimidating cyclist" vibe. So naturally, I decided to strike up a conversation with him. We then ended up shooting the shit all the way over to the park. I got back exactly what I put in.
All of this is not my area of expertise but I have been thinking recently about anonymity on the internet. I recognize that there are instances where this might be important; but broadly speaking, I don't think it's a good thing for our social fabric.
When you say bad things in real life, there are repercussions. You are accountable for your words and actions. And as a result, people tend to behave a certain way. That is not the case when you troll behind an anonymous account on the internet.
https://youtu.be/QDHUlL4lApo
One of the most exciting city building projects going on in Toronto right now is the revitalization of the 715-acre Port Lands area (here's a map if you'd like to get situated). Despite its massive scale, it doesn't seem to be receiving a lot of attention. And that's probably because, at this stage, it's mostly infrastructure work. It's just a lot of soil being moved around.
But it's of course important work. The mouth of the Don River (where it meets Lake Ontario) was never properly engineered for resiliency, and so the entire area is at risk of flooding. That's why this $1.25 billion effort to re-naturalize its interface is currently underway. The above video does a good job explaining just what that entails.
At the same time, it is creating a wonderful city building opportunity -- new parks for the illegal drinking of craft beers, new wildlife habitat, new meandering rivers for kayaking, and of course new housing and new jobs. But when you look at what's planned, it's hard not to feel like we're missing the mark in terms of density.
The plan for Villiers Island calls for some 4,900 homes (according to this Globe and Mail article). And the plan for the entire area calls for only about 20,000 homes (according to this recent Bloomberg article). Surely there's room for at least a few more -- especially if we're hoping to support a new LRT line to the area.
On Sunday evening, I rode out to the Port Lands area (of Toronto) to check out the new park that just (partially) opened up. Named Biidaasige Park (pronounced "bee-daw-si-geh"), it is the largest park to open in the city in many decades.
The first phase is just over 50 acres, and an additional 10 acres is planned to open next year. It houses 5,000+ trees, 77,000+ shrubs, and over two-million herbaceous plants. In terms of spaces, there are picnic areas, a playground with ziplines, off-leash dog parks, trails, and a pebble landing where you can launch "non-motorized personal watercraft." (Is it safe to swim?)
I was impressed when I rode through it. It's a huge quality of life upgrade for the city. But of course, what's most impressive is that the island it sits on (Ookwemin Minising) is the result of a $1.4 billion investment in flood protection. One that now unlocks the Port Lands area for development. That's up next.
After my ride, I did the customary things. I made a protein shake (sidebar: I recently added creatine to the mix), shared my ride to Strava, and then tweeted out this video. The tweet got reshared a few times and so I received a bunch of replies. And whenever this happens, which isn't often, I'm always a bit taken back by the type of comments. A lot of them are negative.
In this case, people commented on the lack of trees (see number of trees planted above), said it would be filled with tents in a week, and even remarked that it would soon be overrun with Indian people. I won't get into the specifics on this latter point, but there was more to it.
Now, I know that this is what happens on the internet. And I don't take any of it personally. I've also done my fair share of community meetings over the decades where I've had tomatoes thrown at me. But it always makes me think: Is this what is going on in people's heads as they go about their day?
To each their own, of course. But I am of the opinion that perspective matters. The world gives you what you give it. If you go about your day thinking negative thoughts, then eventually it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If, on the other hand, you show up with positivity, good things will happen to you.
Here's a silly example.
On my ride over on Sunday, I ended up beside a guy who was similarly suited up on a road bike. He was giving off the "I'm a serious and intimidating cyclist" vibe. So naturally, I decided to strike up a conversation with him. We then ended up shooting the shit all the way over to the park. I got back exactly what I put in.
All of this is not my area of expertise but I have been thinking recently about anonymity on the internet. I recognize that there are instances where this might be important; but broadly speaking, I don't think it's a good thing for our social fabric.
When you say bad things in real life, there are repercussions. You are accountable for your words and actions. And as a result, people tend to behave a certain way. That is not the case when you troll behind an anonymous account on the internet.
https://youtu.be/QDHUlL4lApo
One of the most exciting city building projects going on in Toronto right now is the revitalization of the 715-acre Port Lands area (here's a map if you'd like to get situated). Despite its massive scale, it doesn't seem to be receiving a lot of attention. And that's probably because, at this stage, it's mostly infrastructure work. It's just a lot of soil being moved around.
But it's of course important work. The mouth of the Don River (where it meets Lake Ontario) was never properly engineered for resiliency, and so the entire area is at risk of flooding. That's why this $1.25 billion effort to re-naturalize its interface is currently underway. The above video does a good job explaining just what that entails.
At the same time, it is creating a wonderful city building opportunity -- new parks for the illegal drinking of craft beers, new wildlife habitat, new meandering rivers for kayaking, and of course new housing and new jobs. But when you look at what's planned, it's hard not to feel like we're missing the mark in terms of density.
The plan for Villiers Island calls for some 4,900 homes (according to this Globe and Mail article). And the plan for the entire area calls for only about 20,000 homes (according to this recent Bloomberg article). Surely there's room for at least a few more -- especially if we're hoping to support a new LRT line to the area.
This morning I did a hard hat tour of the Port Lands area of Toronto. And once again, I was reminded that this is one of the most important projects taking place in the city right now.
When completed at the end of 2024, the $1.25 billion flood protection project is going to create over 60 acres of new greenspace and parkland, and unlock a significant amount of land for development. Already, it's hard to imagine this part of the city not becoming a desirable new neighborhood and a magnet for recreation.
I was asked not to share any images from within the site (i.e. the non-public areas), so I'm only sharing the above photo taken from Cherry Street. But we did get a chance to stand on the bed of the new river valley that will eventually take flow from the Don River. And I have photos on my phone to prove it. That was almost certainly a once in a lifetime thing.
For the latest on construction progress, check out this video from Waterfront Toronto.
This morning I did a hard hat tour of the Port Lands area of Toronto. And once again, I was reminded that this is one of the most important projects taking place in the city right now.
When completed at the end of 2024, the $1.25 billion flood protection project is going to create over 60 acres of new greenspace and parkland, and unlock a significant amount of land for development. Already, it's hard to imagine this part of the city not becoming a desirable new neighborhood and a magnet for recreation.
I was asked not to share any images from within the site (i.e. the non-public areas), so I'm only sharing the above photo taken from Cherry Street. But we did get a chance to stand on the bed of the new river valley that will eventually take flow from the Don River. And I have photos on my phone to prove it. That was almost certainly a once in a lifetime thing.
For the latest on construction progress, check out this video from Waterfront Toronto.
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