Toronto College Park Revitalization with Barbara Ann Scott Skate Trail | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | RAW Design

Bleak. Exposed. No charm. No atmosphere. This is a lowest-common-denominator park. Any bets on how long it'll take for that concrete to get tagged?

Can't say I disagree.

I don't hate everything about it..............

But truthfully the space might have been better before.

The blank concrete wall is a mistake and just asking for trouble. Trellis/Ivy, or a mural, or one-way glass (see out, not in), or much of anything other than a blank wall would have been wise.

The light posts are terrible on 2 levels. They're ugly, and they are not dark skies compliant. Yes, I get that College Park is not an astronomer's paradise as is; but neither should we just be beaming light in all directions wastefully.

Beyond that, it really isn't green/colourful enough, there is too much paving. Sigh.
 
I am losing hope in our parks departments ability to deliver inspiring parks and public spaces. They not only lack a vision, but they are spending insane amounts of money in the process.
 
The one benefit I could see is that this park could be well-suited to holding events and markets.
 
The one benefit I could see is that this park could be well-suited to holding events and markets.

Except the location - tucked in with barely any exposure - is not great for that purpose. In any event - no one should should have been surprised by this outcome if they had paid attention to the plans put forward. It was just as uninspiring then as it is now.

AoD
 
Last edited:
Agree with the tag magnet and the lack of trees, but I can't help seeing this as temporary. I saw its previous incarnation (or at least a part of it) being (re)built in 1988 - it is mostly the roof of a parking garage after all.
 
Except the location - tucked in with barely any exposure - is not great for that purpose. In any event - no should should have been surprised by this outcome if they had paid attention to the plans put forward. It was just as uninspiring then as it is now.

AoD
I don't think it's too bad- the entry walkway onto Yonge is extremely wide, offering a direct view into the park and is also completely paved- it could also be programmed to draw people into the park interior. In fact, I think that walkway would be perfect for some summer-time food stands.
 
I don't think it's too bad- the entry walkway onto Yonge is extremely wide, offering a direct view into the park and is also completely paved- it could also be programmed to draw people into the park interior. In fact, I think that walkway would be perfect for some year-round food stands.

It isn't the width - it is there where - and the internal route of the block simply isn't that popular, and the park is never all that visible in the first place. The wide driveway is about as inviting as the parking lot it displaced.

AoD
 
I don't think it's too bad- the entry walkway onto Yonge is extremely wide, offering a direct view into the park and is also completely paved- it could also be programmed to draw people into the park interior. In fact, I think that walkway would be perfect for some summer-time food stands.
Programming would greatly improve this, but the parks department does not do programming so it would take the local BIA or some other organization to adopt this space and bring in some re-occuring events. The parks department spends their capital dollars and then disappears.
 
I walked through it this morning, coming from Bay, between College Park and ROCP. Too much concrete, and there is no relatively straight path from there through the park and on to Yonge Street. Hopefully the water feature will work at some point.
 
Just echoing others, it's like the designers went out of their way to make it a pain to cross the park on the diagonal to get from Bay/College to Yonge. I used to cut through the park frequently. Don't imagine I'll bother now
 
Just now:
20190517_143123.jpg
20190517_143142.jpg
 

Back
Top