Junction Triangle

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 7 and 8 2011, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Canada, the USA, and other countries around the world.

A local walking tour of the vacant TTC site on Lansdowne Ave. has been organized to take place on Sunday May 8, 2011, at 10:00am, starting from the corner of Lansdowne Ave. and Jenet Ave. (one block north of the Lansdowne subway station). The cost for all Jane's Walks is FREE.

A former TTC maintenance yard sits vacant at Landsdowne, just south of Wallace Ave., north of Bloor. This walk will be in two parts; the first a discussion of the history of the site, and the sources/conflicts from the pollution, and a walk around the site observing and discussing a work of art produced by Marianne Lovink and Scott Eunson. Lovink and Eunson won a commission from the City of Toronto to beautify the site during the period in which it is vacant while the soil is reclaimed from industrial pollution.

Afterwards, we may be follow up with a local walk around adjacent parts of the Junction Triangle looking at other public art and features.

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 7 and 8 2011, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Canada, the USA, and other countries around the world.

A local walking tour of Murals and Public Art in the Junction Triangle has been organized to take place on Saturday May 7, 2011, at 10:00am, starting from the Railway underpass on Bloor St., just west of Lansdowne Ave. The cost for all Jane's Walks is FREE.

"The Junction Triangle neighbourhood in west Toronto is bordered on all three sides by railway tracks and underpasses, making it an ideal place for public art. Our walk will explore painted murals, ghost signs, graffiti, and other public art throughout the neighbourhood."

Wallace Crossing

Another fun event from last weekend: The Junction Triangle Jane's Walk. Approximately 30 people came out for this walking tour of our neighbourhood, which was lead by Campbell Ave. resident Bruce Ward.

We started on Wallace Ave., just outside the triangle, where the new Junction Triangle Lofts are under construction, and Ubisoft is preparing their "new" location. We then followed Wallace Ave. across the 'hood over to the West Toronto Railpath, down to Sterling Rd. and Tower Automotive, snaked our way through the Sterling Studio lofts, through the BeBloor and Brownstones on Bloor developments, along Rankin Cres. and through Erwin Krickhahn, and then back up to the starting point on Wallace Ave. Some of us finished off with delicious ice cream at Yasi's Place afterwards!

Although there is still much more to see in the Junction Triangle, our 2-hour tour was full of local history (e.g. Kevin Putnam explained how some of our streets were named), some personal anecdotes, comments on past and future developments, discussions about parks and gardens, and much more.

Fortunately, the weather forecast was wrong: The cloudy skies at the beginning of the walk quickly parted, and I ended up coming home with a sunburn rather than soaking wet clothes.

See also: Photos from last Saturday's Railpath Jane's Walk.

Here are some photos from the Junction Triangle Jane's Walk:

North end of the Railpath at Cariboo Ave.

Last Saturday's "Railpath Ramble" Jane's Walk was a big success, despite the poor weather forecast and rain showers. A crowd of about 30 people met up at the Cariboo Ave. entrance of the Railpath, and were greeted by our tour guides Roy Mitchell and Hema Vyas.

The walk took us down to the south end of the path at Dundas St. and Sterling Rd., with a break for tasty lemonade at a new cafe / art space called Naco on Dundas St., and then back up to the top of the Railpath. Along the way, there were discussions of the Railpath's history, its future, various notable points of interest along the way, the vegetation, some local history, and much more.

The people who came on this walk were not just local residents, but people from all over Toronto who had heard of this fantastic new park/path and wanted to learn more about it. The Railpath is definitely one of our neighbourhood's most successful additions over the last couple of years. Of course, everyone wants to see it expanded to the south/east. Let's hope this can happen!

Coming soon: Photos and writeup from the Junction Triangle Jane's Walk last Sunday.

Here are some photos from the Railpath Ramble:

Jane's Walk 2008: Photo by Scott Dobson, May 4 2008.

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 1 and 2 1010, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Canada, the USA, and other countries around the world.

A "Railpath Ramble" has been organized to take place on Saturday May 1, 2010, at 11:00am, starting from the Cariboo Ave. entrance to the Railpath. All Jane's Walks are free, and this one does not require registration, but you can sign up for an email reminder on the Jane's Walk website.

"We’ll talk about the history of the path, the mysteries along it and the developments both good and bad that have an impact on the area. The walk will ask: how did this happen, what are some of the buildings and landmarks on the railpath about; how is it and will it continue to be a part of the overall view of the city; the art, the people and just a basic overview of the area and its history."

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 1 and 2 2010, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Canada, the USA, and other countries around the world.

The Clean Train Coalition has organized a walk along the Georgetown rail corridor on Saturday May 1, 2010, at 2:00pm, starting in Sorauren Park and heading north through the Junction Triangle along the West Toronto Railpath. All Jane's Walks are free, and this one does not require registration, but you can sign up for an email reminder on the Jane's Walk website.

Join the Clean Train Coalition, a grassroots group demanding the province "Go Electric!" Walk with us on a tour along part of the corridor, join us in conversation about the proposed walls, the effect of diesel pollution on children’s health, and the impact diesel trains will have on local parks and neighbourhoods near the rail line and to the city as a whole. Hear why electric rail is the right way to go and find out how you can help us to make that solution a reality.

We will start from Sorauren Park, a well-loved neighbourhood recreation area, head west and then north to explore the newly opened section of the West Toronto Railpath.

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 1 and 2 2010, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Canada, the USA, and other countries around the world.

A local walking tour of the Junction Triangle has been organized to take place on Sunday May 2, 2010, at 11:00am, starting from Wallace Crossing (Wallace Ave. between Campbell and Lansdowne). All Jane's Walks are free, and this one does not require registration, but you can sign up for an email reminder on the Jane's Walk website.

This walk is intended to familiarize the urban footSoldier with the newly/old named ‘Junction Triangle’ area of the City’s West end.

Contained by the railway heritage of being a former industrial hub of City ‘production’; three sides (hence ‘Triangle’) are bound by tracks isolating this closely knit working class mix of residential and post industrial TO.

Come walk the brilliant new ‘railPath Park’ and experience the semiBohemian City culture that occurs where old industrial meets newUrban.