Toronto, Ontario is the latest city to adopt a High Line-inspired concept, unveiling plans for a public park underneath an elevated highway.
Urban designer Ken Greenberg and landscape architects Public Work have designed a mile-long trail to run below the Gardiner Expressway, transforming the passage into a series of flexible community spaces.
“As cities densify, we begin to view lost or underutilised spaces in new ways,” says City of Toronto’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat. “This proposal is a visionary approach to celebrating and inhabiting a spectacular, dramatic space, stitching together a series of existing areas.”
Plans include using the structure’s existing concrete columns to create partitions between different sections, which could host anything from sports and kids’ clubs to farmers’ markets and art festivals. There will also be a grand staircase that doubles as seating for an outdoor theatre.
Waterfront Toronto, a public body that oversees revitalisation projects in the area around Lake Ontario, will lead its construction and public engagement efforts.
Locals can provide ideas and feedback on the highway’s design and will be able to pitch names for the project starting in December.