
Readers, do you fancy a laugh at Toronto’s expense? Of course you do. Gather ‘round, then, and I shall tell you a tale.
Two weekends ago, you may have seen or heard that a giant flock of Toronto hipsters made merry in one of the city’s parks, Trinity-Bellwoods, in flagrant violation of social distancing rules. This caused much consternation among the gentry, and there was no defending the merry-makers. But it did highlight something almost everyone agrees upon: As downtown Toronto and nearby areas densify, there is a critical need for more greenspace. The fact is, there aren’t a whole lot of other places in that neighbourhood where people can gather outdoors to drink cheap beer ironically and discuss high-waisted jeans.
Past visitors to Toronto may be confused: “Sir, does your fair city not in fact boast one of the world’s largest and most unique urban parks? And is it not located very near downtown?”
Readers, it does and it is. The Toronto Islands contain multitudes: frisbee golf, barbecues, beaches both nude and otherwise, a charmingly low-rent amusement park, and plenty of quiet spots to picnic, read, sleep, swim or paddle away an afternoon. They are a delight. What respite they could offer us during the pandemic.
But they cannot. They are closed. Because at no point over the 162 years since a mighty storm created islands out of what had been a peninsula, has anyone gotten around to building a bridge or tunnel across the 200-metre eastern gap of the harbour, or the 100-metre western gap, that regular people can use. People used to win municipal elections running against “fixed links” to the islands.
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See Also:
(2) Ontario eatery fined for ‘trying to save my business’
(3) The real story of long-term-care COVID-19 deaths
(4) Ontario’s Finance Minister: All these aid packages will need to be paid for