Parc Downsview Park

[DowntownTO]

Bonus pics: The bridge by the lake on Keel. This will be great in Summers to come.

 

[Joe R.]

Speaking of parks...Google street view now includes the following Toronto parks:

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/230823--google-street-view-expands-into-toronto-s-parks-trails-zoos

 

[rdaner]

I don't know when this pavillion went up but there is no mention of it here so far. Reminds me of the one in Don River Park and a few in Chandigargh. Photos taken 2 March 2013.

 

[piggytower]

I like it very close to the park and the convenient to access to TTC, Go Train, York University, Humber River Hospital and Yorkdale Mall etc.

I heard that Mattamy is going to joint venture with Urbancorp to finish this 1000 units project. Would that be a good/bad news to the buyer?

 

[Roundabout]

On the way to Pearson, December 20.

 

[ehlow]

Wow, I drive by there all the time and I had no idea there was a massive park there.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

It's easy to miss. Downsview Park looks more like abandoned industrial lands than a park. However, as a UTer, you still should be ashamed of yourself for not realizing it was a Park

 

[PMT]

The old William Baker neighbourhood has been converted to a woodlot which is now open to the public. I began my tour at the entrance near Dovehouse Ave.

Some of the street furniture...

...and lighting.

John Drury Drive and Robert Woodhead Crescent have found new life as multi-use paths:

Another leftover from the old days:

I left the park through the entrance at Keele and Sheppard:

I remember passing by the old neighbourhood when it was still fenced off and from what I saw behind the fences and barriers was a place seemingly stuck in the 50s-60s. It felt a bit weird going through the park when it finally opened because it was isolated for so long.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I was at the park for the MS walk this year. The park has some interesting terrain and park spaces. On the minus side it seemed kind of disconnected from the city, like some kind of "office park" of city parks.

 

[lead82]

It's easy to miss Downsview Park as a park. After almost 20 years of discussion and plans the land is barren and unkempt. This is supposed to be a massive urban park on park with New Yorks Central Park. It is no where near that. There are barely any trees there. The paths and benches are only now starting to come in. There is not much to do in the park and the landscaping is lame and cheap. The park doesn't do much for property values. Had the city and Feds invested wisely we would have a nice park like Don River is or Sugar Beach level. Where is a nice playground for kids or nice wood lots with large mature trees for shade, or a cafe to act as a central gathering place to hang out.

 

[innsertnamehere]

nice woodlots don't grow overnight.. they tried with what they had as seen in the above pictures, and it looks half decent. I can see it getting better.

 

[PMT]

it seemed kind of disconnected from the city, like some kind of "office park" of city parks.

It's easy to miss Downsview Park as a park.

I agree with you both. I actually went to the park south of Sheppard after passing through William Baker yesterday, and it felt barren. Granted, I saw people while I was there, but there were very few. There's nothing wrong with a park having open space, but when it's mostly open space - and barely any tree canopy - you're reminded how deserted it really is.

Here are my biggest problems with Downsview Park:

1. As others have said, it's easy to miss if you're not from the area. There's no real indication of a park at the corner of Keele and Sheppard, save for this:

Not very inviting. Meanwhile, there's this sign down the street on Keele in front of the pond:

which is ineffective, because: a) it's set back from the sidewalk, and b) it's facing north on the east side of Keele, so southbound motorists will easily miss it, and northbound motorists won't even see it. Not to mention there isn't a lot of foot traffic on this stretch of Keele anyway. A sign like this belongs up the street at Keele and Sheppard, which is a busy intersection.

2. The park could use more outdoor facilities. Not just playgrounds or cafes like lead82 mentioned, but also things like basketball courts or soccer fields. Yes, you can play those sports year-round at the Hangar, but it's tucked away deep in the park and is only accessible by car, the 101 Downsview Park bus or a long walk. Putting them outdoors and closer to the main roads could make them more accessible and the park more vibrant as a whole.

Hopefully things will change as the surrounding neighbourhoods are developed, but for now it looks like the park will only be active during special events.

 

[Lenser]

I'm currently working on a series up at Downsview and I've not noticed anything even faintly resembling a park in my daily commute. It's a big chunk of land though and I'm likely entering and leaving the area from the wrong angle to see anything. The production facilities up there are sizeable though... one massive building formerly used as military storage, housing several large studios, carp shops and production offices.

 

[adHominem]

I finally went through the park for the first time this past Sunday – I was out for a long run and figured I'd go exploring. Thoroughly unimpressed. Mostly it's just empty grass, no furniture, no trees, no shade, no drinking fountains, no maps. It's on top of a bit of a plateau so the views would be nice, except they're blocked by all the little hills that the paths wend between. The pond with fountains in it is nicely landscaped, but I had a hard time getting close to it because of a street gang of Canada geese who threatened to beat me up and take my lunch money.

There's a lot of potential here, but it's going to take time and money.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I'm currently working on a series up at Downsview and I've not noticed anything even faintly resembling a park in my daily commute. It's a big chunk of land though and I'm likely entering and leaving the area from the wrong angle to see anything. The production facilities up there are sizeable though... one massive building formerly used as military storage, housing several large studios, carp shops and production offices.

You can thank the Federal Liberals during the Chretien/Martin era for this - and their insistence this "Urban National Park" be self-funded. It was supposed to be an OMA project - the plans won awards but went nowhere, and the rest got picked up by Bruce Mau design and probably didn't went anywhere much either.

AoD