Junction Triangle - Erwin Krickhahn Park

Davenport Diamond Grade Separation

vic — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 15:50:12 +0000

Metrolinx is planning to grade-separate the railway tracks that run along the east side of our neighbourhood (between Campbell Ave. and Lansdowne) and the CN Tracks on the north side of our neighbourhood (between Dupont and Davenport). Here's the Google Map link.

Currently, these tracks cross each other at-grade, meaning that they intersect at ground level. Trains travelling along the north-south tracks must wait for east-west trains to finish passing through before they can proceed, and vice-versa. The grade separation plan proposes to elevate the north-south GO Transit Barrie Line tracks over the Davenport Diamond, eliminating the intersection and train traffic conflicts.

Though no details have been provided yet about exactly how this grade separation will occur, the summary basically goes like this:

A bridge will be built to carry GO trains on the Barrie line over the east-west freight line
The bridge would start ramping up from just north of Bloor St., proceed over the Davenport Diamond, and return to ground level north of the Diamond (probably between Davenport Rd. and St. Clair Ave.
Wallace Ave. would not be closed (as was possible in one of the previous grade separation proposals)
Some additional track crossings may be opened up, e.g. Paton Rd. or Antler St. / Lappin Ave.
Space under the bridge could potentially be re-purposed by the community (Park? Trail? Other?)

Timelines, construction methods, costs/funding, and other details have not been provided yet, though I expect some of that will be made available soon.

This thread will be updated as we continue to find out more. All comments and discussions related to this project will be consolidated here too.

Note: Grade separation was previously discussed in 2009 with a few options proposed, but this ended up getting rolled into a larger Barrie corridor expansion EA and shelved until recently.

Ontario Redi-Mix has closed down

vic — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:23:30 +0000

Ontario Redi-Mix: As seen from Erwin Krickhahn Park.

The Ontario Redi-Mix plant at 57 Wade Ave. has closed down. I don't know the exact date of the plant's closure, but it has now been inactive for several weeks.

Ontario Redi-Mix is the concrete manufacturing and distribution factory that is visible over the railway tracks at Erwin Krickhahn Park. What seemed like a constant parade of cement trucks around the Bloor-Lansdowne area is a direct result of this plant. I know that there were many complaints about Ontario Redi-Mix from residents in the Lansdowne / Wade / Jenet / Paton area stemming from the truck traffic, noise, dust, dirty streets, idling trucks, cracked sidewalks, and much more. I bet the residents of that area are happy to see this place closed down.

Perhaps it will make life better for Junction Triangle residents on Rankin Cres., and users of Erwin Krickhahn Park too? I'm not sure, as I can't say I've ever been bothered by this facility while in the park, but maybe people who live close-by had different experiences (please post if you have!).

Ontario Redi-Mix, Wade Ave.

vic — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:17:15 +0000

The vacant Ontario Redi-Mix plant on Wade Ave., as seen from Erwin Krickhahn Park.

Photo by Vic Gedris, 2010-08-10.

Electric Train Music Series

vic — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:48:56 +0000

Electric Train Music Series

Every Sunday in July at 12:30 p.m. in the Junction Triangle

Acoustic Performances:

Sunday, July 4
Campbell Park, performer Adam Volpentesta
Sunday, July 11
Carlton Park, performer Andrew Cash
Sunday, July 18
Erwin Krickhahn Park, performer Mark Ripp

Sunday Picnic in Erwin Krickhahn Park

vic — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:55:34 +0000

Judging from old photographs, the parks of this neighbourhood have been busy gathering places for many years. The image above of Carlton Park captures a festive day in 1914. And one of Perth Square shows a heated baseball game underway in 1920, played out in jackets and ties, with neighbours crowded at the fence.

Erwin Krickhahn Park expansion

vic — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:04:14 +0000

Today's Toronto Star has an article about controversial expansion of Erwin Krickhahn Park, at the corner of Rankin Cres. and Paton Rd.: Battle brewing: Garden or park space?

This issue has been posted and discussed several times before on this site, so please read those threads for background information before commenting here again.

A quick recap: In September 2009, City Council approved the expansion of Erwin Krickhahn Park into the dead and of Paton Rd. on the north side of the park. In the Fall, City work crews removed the asphalt and installed a new sidewalk adjacent to the new park land. Soil has been tested at the new park space and has been found to contain some "contaminants consistent with a roadway". Environmental remediation of these contaminants is expected to happen.

There are several options for using this new park space: It could be grassed over to expand the field area of the park, it could be planted with trees and other plants, a community garden can be installed there, or other options. The community garden proposal is the most controversial of these ideas. Councillor Adam Giambrone has promised to hold a community meeting this Spring so that residents and city staff can discuss these ideas and come up with the most suitable plan.

Erwin Krickhahn Park in the news again

vic — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:29:50 +0000

Here is yet another post about the closing of the Paton Rd. stump and extension of Erwin Krickhahn Park. This time, just a couple of links to media reports from this week.

On November 16th, a reporter from the Toronto Sun interviewed several local residents at Erwin Krickhahn Park and posted a video that evening. On November 17th, they followed up with an article.

On November 19th, our local paper The Villager / Inside Toronto reported on the situation again, after interviewing several residents.

Residents Welcome New Green Space in the Community

Irmina — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:21:39 +0000

Erwin Krickhahn Park, Paton Road Extension

by Kevin Putnam

Summary:
An article written in response to a flyer distributed on 16 October, 2009, titled "Proposal to close Paton Road next to Erwin Krickhahn Park for Vegetable Garden".

How much trouble can 428.9 sq. meters cause? Apparently, plenty if you believe that extra green space in a local park is harmful for the following reasons:

Unknown Vandal Encourages Locals to Break Law

Scott D — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:21:51 +0000

Signs Encourage Stealing

An unknown vandal(s) has been knowingly encouraging locals to break the law by placing signs in the area saying there is free topsoil available at a City worksite at the corner of Paton and Rankin.

The signs, with no affiliation or contact information are designed to make local residents think that there is free top soil for the taking which is not the case at all. In fact a few locals have innocently fallen for this hoax only to feel terrible about it later. At casual glance these signs look like the kind of handmade sign that a neighbour puts up to announce a yard sale or say its OK to take away an item that has been put out. No wonder a few people fell for it.

This is stealing and may seem like a great idea or a funny prank but everybody in the community pays in the end when people help themselves (or cowardly) encourage others to innocently help themselves to materials that belong to all of us. Every City department is under financial duress these days so taking supplies only makes it harder for them to pay for all their projects, in this case for the Parks Department.

The Police have been notified and they have taken some signs as evidence. If anybody sees the person(s) putting up these signs or recognizes the handwriting please contact 11 Division immediately.

Stealing from the Parks Department is pretty sad and an attack on the community. It also sets a bad example for youth. Lets hope the community and the Police can find this vandal (s).

Due to all of the flaming, bickering, and fighting, comments have been closed on this article.

Erwin Krickhahn Park extension into Paton Rd.

vic — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:57:28 +0000

Sketch from the City of Toronto: Click for a larger version

At the next Toronto and East York Community Council meeting, councillors will be voting on agenda item TE27.55: the permanent closure of the short section of Paton Rd. just north of Erwin Krickhahn Park, and transferring the land to Parks and Recreation for the purpose of extending the park north.

A PDF copy of the Staff Report can be found here, as well as a PDF version of the sketch here.