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Adam Vaughan's December 2009 Newsletter

I realize many of you - particularly residents of CityPlace - are anxiously awaiting the opening of the spectacular new park on Fort York Boulevard, which was built by Concord Adex. Although construction was substantially completed in the fall of 2009, a number of technical details (like hydro connections for lighting), transfer of the ownership from the developer to the City, and access agreements for the park over adjacent private property are still being finalized. Please be assured that City staff, Concord Adex and my office are working hard to resolve these matters and will let you know when the park is “open.”

In the meantime, following a public process to find a name for this amazing new park - Toronto East York Community Council adopted the name Canoe Landing. More than 150 submissions were received from Torontonians through the “Name the Park” contest that was sponsored by Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff, my office and Spacing Magazine.

The jury that reviewed the submissions and recommended the name included:

- Dionne Brand, Toronto’s Poet Laureate - The Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor General of Canada - Barbara Hall, former Mayor of Toronto and Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission - Stephen Otto, Friends of Fort York - Charles Pachter, Toronto Artist - Alan Vihant, Concord Adex

The name, Canoe Landing, is a combination of several park name submissions:

Canoe “The big canoe park represents a renewed sense of urban community space in the heart of the new CityPlace neighbourhood in the ward 20 area of the city's waterfront, entertainment and financial district.”

“Simple, understandable, and as the sculpture so aptly points out, canoes would once have been on this beach.”

“It will be called this ANYWAY since it’s the most prominent component of the park. And it sounds good.”

“I propose that the park be called "Red Canoe Park" simply because that is how everyone will refer to it from now on. The red canoe is distinctive and highly visible, and that is going to be the most recognizable way to identify it. Whatever name you give it, that's what people will call it. May as well make it official.“

The canoe reference in the name gives an indirect recognition to its well-known designer, Canadian writer and artist Douglas Coupland, who came up with the idea.

Landing “Landing takes the water features of the park (the canoe, fishing bobbers, etc.) into account as well: After all, a landing is a place where boats congregate to load and unload their goods.”

With the parks proximity to the waterfront and location where the shoreline and harbour formerly were the site literally was a “landing.”

Toronto is also a “landing place” for thousands of newcomers to Canada.

By way of background, here is the Artist’s Statement for the park:

The design of Toronto’s newest park at Concord CityPlace draws on the imagination of award winning designers PFS working with one of Canada’s most creative visual artists and authors, Douglas Coupland. The essence of the park was to create a soul where one didn’t exist – to give life to the land.

Another key factor was also the fact that soon enough there are going to be thousands of people living there, and these people will have to form a community — so then how to give them a space they can share?

The two big moves were to establish a new relationship between the park site and Lake Ontario, and, of course, to build in the Miracle Mile.

The three main constructed pieces—the Canoe, the Dam and the Bobbers—are about water and the history of both Toronto and the country. The Canoe aims at both the lake and at the Gardiner Expressway, and in doing so creates a communal and almost giddy sense of friendliness, while the Dam and the Bobbers create a sense of futuristic Canadian energy. All three pieces aim to point people into the future, using the past as a propellant.

A special tribute to Toronto can be found in the series of images forming the Terry Fox miracle mile running path. Following the markers allows each visitor to complete Terry’s journey.

The landscaping is a way of creating various planes and surfaces that make people feel that they’re not only in a city, but also in a larger national landscape that is both civilized and wild. The park is meant to be active, joyful and celebratory - A place for families, dogs and perhaps even the odd beaver.

I would like to extend thanks and appreciation to Spacing Magazine, all of the jurors and residents who contributed their creativity and time to this process.