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If Nunziata is onboard with the downtown park this thing might be more practical (politically) than I expected.

"Nunziata says that when the downtown rail deck park proposal was being discussed at city council, she didn’t make a speech. “But I did say to the mayor, ‘You know we have one up in Weston. No one seems to talk about it.’” She acknowledges the downtown project is a bigger, more ambitious idea."​

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...pen-because-it-happened-in-weston-keenan.html

The "rail deck" park in Weston:
vt-park-space009.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x724.jpg


Still closed off, unfortunately, because of complications.
 
That's what qualifies as a park in Toronto.
Yeah, it's a very poor example for Keenan to use. There's far better already over the subways (Summerhill/Rosedale has some lovely decked-over stretches).

In the event, what's pictured is touted to become part of a school playground. London, Paris, NYC, etc all have some wonderful parks over rail lines and subways. NYC western access rail (to Penn Station) line has extensive decked over stretches as park.

What must be kept in mind is the pic above is the result of Metrolinx, not the City. The City will be compelled to do something far better than that.
 
Decking from Manor Road to Eglinton Portal would be a better fit to Weston in terms of what's achievable and of public ownership of all the necessary assets, but Weston is still dissimilar in that the tunnel amounts to new construction, rather than capping something which can only be minimally interrupted during construction.
 
I encourage other readers, unless deemed otherwise by the moderators, to post the *richest green growth* seen around Toronto above decked over rail trenches or bridges. I was looking for another spot on the Yonge Line as per Dowling's suggestion above, only to trip across this looking for it...and note! That full grown tree and behind is *above* the decking, not beside it:
upload_2016-10-15_19-7-15.png
 

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Wouldn't it be funny if the roof of the tunnel collapsed due to the weight?
It is definitely not uncommon for underground parking garages.
 
Wouldn't it be funny if the roof of the tunnel collapsed due to the weight?
It is definitely not uncommon for underground parking garages.
Not a chance. The only occurrence of grief from tunnels like this that I'm aware of is in London, when a drill rig taking soil samples bored through the London Tube.

How about those skyscrapers falling over, eh? Btw, that section of park shown in my prior post has been there for half a century plus.

Harold Town Park, guess where it is?

Harold_Town.jpg

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted September, 2006

If you were to walk into this small Harold Town Park on the north side of Church Street you will come across this 1992 Toronto Historical Board plaque. Here's what it says:

Coordinates: 43.672605 -79.386220

Harold_Town_Map.jpg


http://torontoplaques.com/Pages/Harold_Town.html
 
Isn't there a distinction between trenches that have been decked over (e.g. south of St. Clair) and areas above a lined tunnel? Chances are you're going to have more soil over the second.
 
Isn't there a distinction between trenches that have been decked over (e.g. south of St. Clair) and areas above a lined tunnel? Chances are you're going to have more soil over the second.
It's a good point! Structurally, the latter, *typically* would have a higher load carrying rating. However, I have posted this prior, and will again:

Looking north from Summerhill Station:
upload_2016-10-16_12-9-54.png


In a prior post, I posted the pic underground showing the trench, the tracks, and even the sawed-off trunks left from the trees cut to deck-over some decades back.

See graphic attached as to how NYC's Hudson Yards are doing this. Will Toronto have to do anything like this? Not even close, but just to show what's possible:
 

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I personalty think they should extend the rail deck from Bathurst St to Strachan Ave bridge. Creating an extension of the 21 acre rail deck park land from the financial to the C N E Fort York districts. It would benefit the city much better by making an alternate classy green route for locals and tourist to travel on instead of the car infested streets. It will definitely be worth the billions the city would have to shell out !
 
I personalty think they should extend the rail deck from Bathurst St to Strachan Ave bridge. Creating an extension of the 21 acre rail deck park land from the financial to the C N E Fort York districts. It would benefit the city much better by making an alternate classy green route for locals and tourist to travel on instead of the car infested streets. It will definitely be worth the billions the city would have to shell out !

Too bad we just got started on the Fort York pedestrian bridge...

fyb-constructionnotice-aug2016-1-jpg.85855

fyb-constructionnotice-aug2016-2-jpg.85856
 
The bridges are good for now . They also have a pedestrian bridge from City Place to Front street and they still have plans to to build a park under it. I wonder if they're going to run the park under or flush with the Spadina and Bathurst bridges?
 

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