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Hipster Duck

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Ravines are very characteristic of Toronto and Atom Egoyan called them "places of [urban] contact with very primal forms of nature". Very few cities have this, and we take it for granted. Unfortunately, most unbuilt ravines exist in lower density, primarily residential parts of the city where there is little walking potential, but there is one ravine downtown that could become a destination, and that is the Rosedale valley that separates downtown from Rosedale.

My idea is constructing a ravine "promenade" that would start at the NE corner of Sherbourne and Bloor and continue on the north side as far as Castle Frank subway station. It would be essentially a greatly-widened sidewalk, but it would extend out over the ravine's edge - my inspiration would be the Terrasse Dufferin in Quebec City. It would also have more access points (staircases) to get to the bottom of the ravine itself that would, themselves, be much more solid and permanent in design - featuring landscaping, stone paving and streetlighting.

Thoughts?
 
Doesn't illicit activity happen down there? I think it did a few years ago - I'd see people emerging from the shrubbery now and then along the north side of Bloor east of Sherbourne at all hours. Some were unkempt, some where happy. I'd leave our ravines alone. Indeed, maybe increase their mystique by spreading rumours about them - dangerous wild animals on the loose etc.
 
It's a pretty cool idea but I think the concern here might be about crowding out the locals, so to speak, thus eventually cancelling out that which made the ravines so attractive in the first place.

Maybe not. Most of our ravines are already heavily used and some (the Don Valley, if you want to include it) are straight up ruined and they're still attractive albeit not as mysterious as those left mostly untouched.

I'm not familiar with the Terrasse Dufferin though, so maybe I'm not thinking along the same lines as you.
 
one of the most remarkable (and under-appreciated) things about Toronto is that a forested area like this is a 5 minute drive from Yonge and Bloor. i'd hate to see it change....

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Anything built along the river valleys disintegrate when the river floods over, which happened about 12 times last year. Unless there is some flood-proof building style for this promenade, it won't last long.
 
Anything built along the river valleys disintegrate when the river floods over, which happened about 12 times last year. Unless there is some flood-proof building style for this promenade, it won't last long.

Most structures are built to withstand the power of a 100-year flood. Paths aren't built to this standard however, as they are normally under-built until flooding occurs.
 
one of the most remarkable (and under-appreciated) things about Toronto is that a forested area like this is a 5 minute drive from Yonge and Bloor. i'd hate to see it change....

I wouldn't say that my promeande idea would change the ravine, it would just allow people to get up close and personal with it from the top. Right now, the way pedestrians can "enjoy" the ravine from Bloor street is to walk along a 3 foot sidewalk and peer over a highway-spec guardrail.
 
I would love this ravine, among others to be more appreciated.

But FIRST, I would like to see it restored.

Underneath Rosedale Valley Road is the original occupant of the bottom of the valley, Castlefrank Creek.

I'd love to see the road closed , at least from Park Road to Bayview, and the creek dug back up. That would create a wonderful walking experience adjacent to downtown.

For those not in know check out the Lost Rivers website for the full route of Castlefrank Creek, which also ran through Ramsden Park, and the Nordheimer and Cedarvale Ravines. The latter stretch was buried in the 1970s in preparation for the Spadina Expressway. But its still there, just piped.

***

As to access, I would oppose lighting, because it doesn't really make an isolated ravine safe, it just creates the illusion of safety.

Generally, your perfectly safe, of course, particularly during the day. But lighting would just add visual pollution at night without making a walk risk-free.

I would like to see direct stair or path access from each major street the valley crosses, so Mt. Pleasant, Sherbourne and Bloor ideally on both sides (n-s or e-w) of said bridges, creating the greatest possible access to what would be a wonderful resource so close to downtown.

The price tag would actually be THAT bad, the main problem would be annoyed motorists!
 
For generations we've been drawn to our ravine system because it represents a counterpoint to the constructed city - and the dynamic frontier where the two meet has potential to explain a certain Toronto essence. We're also a city by a lake, and the point where the city meets the water is another place of definition that's increasingly exploited. Homes built on the edges of ravines ( not all as celebrated as Integral House, Eb Zeidler's home or Drew Mandel's Ravine House, etc. etc. ) capture that. Viewing platforms of the sort that Hipster advocates ( Donald Chong Studio proposed a similar and I think overdesigned and unnecessary intervention on the east slopes of Riverdale Park in a Globe series a few years ago ) may be another, if handled well. But I think there's danger in spilling the urban over into the rural and not understanding the subtlety of the defining, dynamic edge that mediates between them.
 
I picture a promenade/platform, like the one at Niagara Falls, built along Bloor and all I see is a tree canopy, except for the brief view that opens up when Bloor passes over the valley itself. It's still a good idea, though, even if it's just a widened sidewalk with occasional benches and not a grand stone and steel somethingerother. Contrary to what Urban Shocker says, it would harden and define the edge between urban and rural...currently, the north side of Bloor sort of dissolves into a grassy no-man's land occasionally strewn with litter and populated by a guard rail straight out of a hill or curve along a 905 concession, beyond which may or may not be a ravine - you can't really see. A promenade would also bring people closer to the actual change in elevation...the drop here may not be on par with Quebec or Niagara but it could still be worth showcasing. Anything that gets more people walking along Bloor between Sherbourne and Broadview is a good thing.
 
I would like to see the ravines litter-free but otherwise think they are more interesting as "as-is" features.
 

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