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80-640: Despite its location at the tip of Toronto's formerly heavily industrial Port Lands area, Cherry Beach is a popular gathering place. There is no boardwalk and much of the surrounding areas is marshland or leftover grounds from what was once commercial industry and factory grounds. Recently the park has undergone improvements which includes a paved entrance way and a renovated washroom and swimming change room facilities. It has change rooms for bathers and barbecue areas for picnickers. It also has an off-leash area for dog walkers. The Martin Goodman Trail passes through

160-735: A U-shape loop around the area. The line branched from the Union Station Rail Corridor just west of the Don River, passed through the Keating Yard just east of the Don Roadway, crossed to the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard, turned south on the west side of Leslie Street, then ran west roughly parallel to Unwin Avenue to terminate at the Port of Toronto facility west of Cherry Street. The right-of-way

240-468: A major industrial and shipping hub; however, this hope was not fulfilled. By the 1970s, most industries had left the area, and much of the land was polluted from former heavy manufacturing and oil refinery operations. By the 1980s, the Port Lands were used primarily for light industry, as well as for municipal facilities such as salt storage. In the early 2000s, several film production studios were built in

320-542: A mandate to construct flood control features as well as acquire property in the Don and other valleys to prevent a future re-occurrence of the disaster. Large tracts of industrial land adjacent to the river were added to the regulatory floodplain. This meant that the MTRCA had a veto on any developments that were not flood-proofed. The MTRCA became the TRCA in 1998. In the 1950s and early 1960s,

400-474: A moderate to heavy rainfall, up to 1–2 metres inside of three hours. The average base flow for the Don River is about 4 m /s. Peak flows occur in late February and late September which corresponds to seasonal variation in the Toronto region. Maximum flows, based on a Hurricane Hazel level flood have been estimated at nearly 1700 m /s. On August 19, 2005, an unusually strong summer storm caused short term flooding in

480-516: A more degraded section and ends up in a straightened section that includes cement and steel dock wall, a remnant from an earlier industrial era. The river flows from there into the Keating Channel at Lake Shore Boulevard East which is at the north east corner of the Toronto Harbour . To control flooding from the Don River, Waterfront Toronto 's Port Lands Flood Protection Project extended

560-476: A natural zone for the remaining section to Todmorden Village. Trails for biking and pedestrian use will be connected from existing ones for recreational and transportation needs. Another aim for the park is restoration of land and the upper sections of the Don River. The project aims to revitalize the ravine space through a series of projects that will advance the priorities set out in the city of Toronto's Lower Don Trail Master Plan, prepared by DTAH. Together with

640-575: A roof shingle manufacturing and a waste transfer station on the site of a deactivated incinerator. The Hearn Generating Station smokestack (215 metres (705 ft) in height), together with the Ashbridges Bay sewage sludge incinerator stack and the Commissioners Street waste incinerator stack stand as towering landmarks of a bygone industrial era. All three facilities are no longer in operation. The Pinewood Toronto Studios (formerly FilmPort )

720-509: A series of accessible new entry points, the Master Plan calls for the reclamation of former green spaces throughout the valley, including the former snow dump site north of the Bloor Viaduct. Naturalized ecological conditions throughout the valley would offer improved flood protection. A "nature-inspired" public art program is set to launch in 2017, aiming to strengthen the cultural presence of

800-528: Is a watercourse in southern Ontario that empties into Lake Ontario , at Toronto Harbour . Its mouth was just east of the street grid of the town of York, Upper Canada , the municipality that evolved into Toronto , Ontario. The Don is one of the major watercourses draining Toronto (along with the Humber , and Rouge Rivers) that have headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine . The Don is formed from two rivers,

880-422: Is fairly flat in general, local cyclists have developed a number of technically challenging singletrack trails throughout the area, following the main trails. Downstream from the forks, the river flows through a wooded area known as Crothers' Woods which is designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area due to the high quality beech-maple forest that grows on the ravine slopes. South of Pottery Road it enters

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960-647: Is home to Cherry Beach, parkland similar to the Toronto Islands but surrounded by a mostly vacant, industrial setting. Regatta Road is a short street that runs south of Unwin Avenue just east of Cherry Street along the Martin Goodman Trail. It is home to a number of rowing and sailing clubs: Other commercial uses also exist on the land. The vacated factory spaces have become home to a small cultural contingent, consisting mostly of musician jam spaces and recording studios. The old box factory on Polson Pier houses

1040-551: Is known as the "Withrow Site". It was discovered in 1886 during road building just east of Riverdale Park . It contained human remains and other artifacts dating back to about 5000 years BP. Wendat longhouse villages were developed along the river starting in the 1300s when corn became a staple food. In the 1700s, the Mississaugas moved into the region, seeing the Haudenosaunee withdraw south of Lake Ontario. The French were

1120-408: Is now classified as an underfit river . The landscape at that time was loose glacial till so the large amounts of glacier melt water eroded deep valleys over thousands of years. As time progressed, isostatic uplift caused the earth's plate to rise and tilt. This caused Lake Iroquois to drain towards the south. A remnant of its shoreline can be seen on the north side of Davenport Road in Toronto. In

1200-629: Is responsible for the dredging estimates that the amount of sediment dredged is 35,000 m /year weighing nearly 60,000 tonnes (59,000 long tons; 66,000 short tons). The east branch of the Don, also called the Little Don River, rises at the south edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine just to the west of Yonge Street , flowing south-eastward through ravine forests in Richmond Hill , Thornhill , east of Willowdale and Don Mills . A second branch of

1280-424: Is situated beside the now defunct Richard L. Hearn Generating Station. The Toronto Transit Commission has two facilities in the Port Lands. Its Lakeshore garage on Commissioners Street services Wheel-Trans minibuses. The TTC's Leslie Barns on Leslie Street is a maintenance and storage facility for streetcars. Toronto Hydro has a 49,000-square-metre (12-acre) facility at 500 Commissioners Street. In 2009,

1360-686: Is to the south between the ship channel and the lake. It serves the Outer Harbour Marina. The Don Roadway makes a connection with the south end of the Don Valley Parkway . Carlaw Avenue and Logan Avenue cross from the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard to Commissioners Street. Other minor streets entirely within the northerly area are Bouchette Street (named for Joseph Bouchette surveyor of Upper Canada in 1793), Saulter Street South, Basin Street, Villiers Street, Munition Street and Polson Street. In

1440-567: The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) was constructed through the Lower Don to serve growing commuter traffic. The project was a large civil engineering project. Homes, farms, and cottages in the valley were expropriated. Two hills within the valley were leveled and the soil used for grading the highway. The railways and the river were re-routed, Don Mills Road was improved and the Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue concession roads were extended across

1520-521: The Wisconsinan Glaciation . During that glaciation which lasted for 35,000 years, all of Ontario was covered in ice. As the climate warmed the glaciers began to melt. As the ice front retreated in southern Ontario, several rivers were formed that drained into Lake Iroquois , a glacier lake which was the precursor to Lake Ontario. The Don River is now small in comparison to the deep and wide valley that resulted from its glacial origin. The Don River

1600-413: The 1850s, settlers established a community in the area. The area was called Fisherman's Island and included a commercial fishery and church. People would travel to and from the mainland of Toronto by boat or across a breakwater that was built in 1882. The beach park was originally named Clarke Beach Park after Harry Clarke, an alderman who was responsible for creating the park in the early 1930s. In 1974,

1680-438: The 1880s, Gooderham and Worts was heavily using the marsh to dispose of waste from pigs and cattle, as well as wheat swill from their distilling operations. Up to 80,000 gallons (almost 364,000 L) per day of liquid manure drained into the marsh. The once natural area had now become an open sewage dump and a health hazard. A local newspaper described the situation as "a malarial swamp...teeming with pestilence and disease." By

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1760-402: The 1890s, the potential threat of a cholera outbreak forced the city to act. In 1892, after the city threatened legal action, Gooderham and Worts installed a filtration system for waste. In 1893, City engineer Edward Henry Keating (1844–1912) had the Keating Channel constructed to redirect the flow of the Don River west into Toronto Harbour . This improved the Don's flow but did not resolve

1840-661: The 1910s through to the early 1930s, the Don Valley was used as a camping site by the homeless. These sites were commonly referred to as the "hobo jungle" of the valley. Campers at the hobo jungle were often harassed, arrested, and raided by police. In 1946, a plan by the Shirriff company to demolish pioneer dwellings in the area of Todmorden Mills led outraged citizens to form the Don Valley Conservation Association volunteer organization. The Association's opposition

1920-780: The 1920s. The marsh was eliminated between Cherry and Leslie Streets, and the Keating Channel became the sole outlet for the Don River. In the 1950s, the Leslie Spit , the Hearn Generating Station , the Commissioners Incinerator and the Gardiner Expressway were built, the latter over the mouth of the Don River. There was a hope that the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway would make the Port Lands

2000-568: The 1960s the river was a neglected, polluted mess. In 1969, Pollution Probe held a much celebrated "Funeral for the Don" to highlight the plight of the river. Efforts to restore the Don gathered steam in 1989 with a public forum at the Ontario Science Centre which was attended by about 500 people. The result was the formation of the Task Force to Bring Back the Don , a citizen's advisory body to Toronto City Council. Their mandate and vision

2080-411: The 2007 FIFA Jr championship were to be played there. During the environmental assessment the site was found to be heavily contaminated by heavy metals , hydrocarbons and PCBs . The soccer field was described as a "transitional" facility, as most of the land on either side of Unwin was underutilized city land that could be repurposed to sport facilities even though it was contaminated. Toronto FC used

2160-529: The British. After a land claims process, the surrender of aboriginal title to the Toronto Purchase lands was eventually concluded in 2010 for financial considerations. After the founding of York in 1793, several mills were constructed along the lower Don. One of the first was at Todmorden Mills . These mills initially turned out lumber, flour and paper products. By the 1850s, there were more than 50 mills along

2240-471: The Don River to the new mouth of the river channel and completed the creation of a new island, Ookwemin Minising . For the first time since the 1880s the Keating Channel was no longer the primary outlet for the river into Toronto Harbour. Since the cessation of industrial pollution and the cleanup efforts by various groups, the river has regenerated to the point where a number of species of fish have returned to

2320-553: The Don Valley Conservation Authority was established in 1947. The authority had limited powers, and was funded by local municipalities which had to pay for specific land purchases. For example, a 1950 plan to build a large conservation area on the East Don River at Milne Hollow at Lawrence Avenue never came to fruition over the high cost of development. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck the Toronto area. Most of

2400-530: The Don Valley, the old shoreline is evident just north of Eglinton Avenue . Today the source of the Don River is the Oak Ridges Moraine , another legacy of the Wisconsin glaciation. The location of the old shoreline delineates a change in the soils in the Don watershed. Soils north of the old shoreline are mostly luvisolic Halton Till while south of the shoreline they are sandy glaciolacustrine deposits. The Don Valley provides an appropriate location for studying

2480-591: The Don Valley, which—according to the Master Plan—already serves as a de facto backyard to some 250,000 Torontonians. This new park will be under the management of the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division . In 2018 City Council directed staff to consult community about naming the network of parks in the Lower Don "Wonscotonach Parklands", with Wonscotonach meaning "black burnt grounds" or "area previously swept by fire", deriving as an Anglicized form of

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2560-418: The Don Valley. Peak flow rates for that event were measured at 55.3 m /s. Since high flow rates occur during storm events, the resulting floods tend to scour the bottom of the river which reduces fish habitat. In addition, the flood waters carry a large amount of sediment washed into the river from surrounding tablelands. The sediment collects in the Keating Channel just past the mouth of the river. The TRCA which

2640-527: The Don and its tributaries. The Lower Don was becoming an industrial setting. Petroleum storage facilities, poultry and pork processing plants were constructed along the banks of the Don. In 1879, the Don Valley Brick Works opened. Polluted effluent from these factories and the growing city nearby was turning the Don and its marshy mouth into a polluted hazard. There were two prominent hills that were north of Bloor. "Sugar Loaf Hill" at Bloor Street

2720-412: The Don by canoe. The Association also advocated for the building of trunk sewers to stop the run-off of pollution into the Don. After World War II, rapid urban expansion occurred in the northern reaches of the watershed. At the same time, interest in conservation led to the formation of conservation authorities across Ontario for watershed management. Authorities were established to manage watersheds, and

2800-449: The East and West Branches, that meet about 7 kilometres (4 mi) north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into the lake. The area below the confluence is known as the "lower Don", and the areas above as the "upper Don". The Don is also joined at the confluence by a third major branch, Taylor-Massey Creek . The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is responsible for managing

2880-587: The Keating Channel by going underneath a lift bridge at Cherry Street. During the early part of the 20th century the river and the valley continued to be neglected. 31 separate sewage treatment facilities were built along the river. Over 20 sites in the valley and adjacent ravines were used as landfills for garbage and industrial refuse. In 1917, the Don Destructor was built beside the river, just north of Dundas Street East. The incinerator operated for 52 years, burning about 50,000 tonnes of rubbish annually. In

2960-523: The Lower Don has shown improvements in dissolved oxygen, phosphates and suspended solids; however by 2021, the tributary Taylor-Massey Creek had shown little improvement. As of 2021 , the Don River still suffers from sewage pollution during heavy rainfalls, when storm sewers carrying both rain water and sewage overflow into the Don River and its tributaries. To remedy this problem, the city is spending $ 3   billion to build three tunnels totaling 22 kilometres (14 mi) in length to divert sewage away from

3040-449: The Port Lands and protect the area from flooding by naturalizing the mouth of the Don River. There was also the goal to prepare for residential development and create more parks within the Port Lands. The Ashbridge streetcar line was an early public transit service in the Port Lands. It opened on November 5, 1917 to serve workers employed at munitions factories in the Port Lands during World War I . The City of Toronto constructed and owned

3120-459: The Port Lands created as part of Waterfront Toronto's Port Lands Flood Protection Project. The waters of the Don River made a 90-degree turn into the Keating Channel, creating a bottleneck that often leads to flooding. In 2024, Waterfront Toronto completed a channel running south from the Don River, and then west between Commissioners Street and the Shipping Channel to provide a second outlet for

3200-401: The Toronto area beyond the Toronto Islands are located at Cherry Beach. A wooded area by the beach has been turned into soccer fields, children's play structure and a metered parking area. In 2006 a pair of soccer fields were completed on land that had formerly been part of the greenbelt, at 275 Unwin Avenue. The fields were surfaced in astroturf and built to FIFA standards, and games of

3280-402: The Toronto's Central Waterfront Planning proposed to eliminate Cherry Beach for industrial use. In 2003, the city officially renamed it to Cherry Beach which was already the common name among locals. In 2020, a group of local residents issued a collective statement criticizing a feasibility study by Waterfront Toronto which considered providing water taxis access to the beach. For many years it

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3360-750: The area. In 2001, the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and the federal government jointly created the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation, today known as Waterfront Toronto , to plan for the renewal and redevelopment of the Port Lands. By this time the Port Lands were considered to be the largest under-developed and under-used urban space in North America. In 2017, Waterfront Toronto received $ 1.25 billion from municipal, provincial and federal levels of government to clean up

3440-638: The damage occurred in the Humber River area. While there was some flooding, substantially less rain fell over the Don Watershed and there was no loss of life. However, the impact of the hurricane led to changes for the conservation authorities in the Toronto region. In 1957, the DVCA, along with other Toronto-area conservation authorities, was reformed into the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and given

3520-492: The eastern Don, known as German Mills Creek , parallels the main eastern branch and joins it at Steeles Avenue, the northern boundary of Toronto. South of Lawrence Avenue the river passes through the Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve. This area is mostly undeveloped parkland. The reserve occupies the valley south to the forks of the Don. It was at one time home of a Maple sugar shack and tapline , which

3600-473: The eastern half. The western section of Taylor-Massey Creek and the southern portion of the western branch are surrounded by parkland (see also: Toronto ravine system ). In more recent years the retreat of the industrial plants and rail infrastructure has freed up room which is now being turned into bicycling trails, which now extend from the shore of Lake Ontario northward in several directions to provide some 30 km of off-road paved trails. While Toronto

3680-577: The facility had 189 solar panels to generate 36 kilowatts (kW) of electricity for internal use. Starting in 2013, the Toronto Port Lands Company created a "concrete campus" at 575 Commissioners Street near Leslie Street. This consolidated the operations of several concrete companies including Essroc, Lafarge, Metrix, and St. Mary's into one location. The campus freed up the companies' former spaces at other port locations for cleanup and redevelopment. Other industrial include road salt storage,

3760-562: The first Europeans to visit the region, trading at posts in the area. In the 1760s, the French were displaced by the British after the fall of Quebec. The British and the Mississaugas concluded the problematic Toronto Purchase treaty in 1787. Believing the purchase to be a rental of the area, and not the release of their rights to the land, the Mississaugas surrendered most of the land that would become York , and then Toronto, and York County to

3840-622: The former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay . Approximate geographical borders are the Gardiner Expressway / Don Valley Parkway ramps to the north and west, Lake Shore Boulevard to the north, Lake Ontario on the three remaining sides: the Inner Harbour to the west, Ashbridge's Bay to the east and the open waters of Lake Ontario to the south. Landmarks include the Portlands Energy Centre , Leslie Barns (streetcar facility), Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant , and

3920-545: The line but had the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) operate it. The double-track line ran south from Queen Street, crossed over the Grand Trunk Railway tracks and the Keating Channel on a trestle, following the Don Roadway and turned west on Commissioners Street running in a reserved right-of-way that terminated at Cherry Street. At each end, the line had a single track terminus without a turning loop or wye;

4000-515: The line used bidirectional streetcars supplied by the TRC. The Toronto Transportation Commission took over the TRC and the Ashbridge line on September 1, 1921. On September 19, 1924, the line was replaced by buses after the streetcar trestle over the Keating Channel was deemed to be unsafe for further use. The Toronto Port Lands Company owned the last remaining railway line in the Port Lands, which made

4080-488: The marsh provided habitat for birds and other animals. The area was connected to the Toronto Islands archipelago until a violent storm in 1858 created a natural channel break turning the archipelago into a series of islands to the west. Pollution problems developed by the mid 19th century because of industrial development along the harbour and the lower Don River in addition to the use of the marsh for sewage disposal. By

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4160-525: The name "Waasayishkodenayosh" meaning "burning bright point" or "peninsula" in Anishinaabemowin . The Don Valley is notable because of its deep wide valley in the lower reaches. At the Bloor Street Viaduct, the valley is about 400 m wide while the river is only about 15 m wide. This is due to its glacial origins. The Don River and its deep valley were formed about 12,000 years ago at the end of

4240-420: The name Toronto Port Lands Company. TPLC is a City corporation that manages real estate assets and promotes development in the Port Lands. With respect to development, it works closely with Waterfront Toronto. TPLC is the largest landowner in the Port Lands with 160 hectares (400 acres) in its portfolio, and acts as landlord with over 80 tenants as of 2015. Ookwemin Minising is a 22-hectare (54-acre) island in

4320-569: The now out-of-service Hearn Generating Station . There is also parkland such as Cherry Beach and the Leslie Street Spit . Ashbridges Bay Marsh once existed at the delta of the Don River in Toronto. The marsh extended as far east as today's Leslie Street. Much of the Port Lands were initially part of Ashbridge's Bay, which consisted of a five-square-kilometre triangular area of marshes and ponds surrounded by sandbars. The water and reeds in

4400-407: The park. In summer, the beach water is generally calm, and slightly warmer than other Toronto beaches along the lake shore, as its shallow water is sheltered by the Leslie Street Spit from direct surges of Lake Ontario . The area that comprises Cherry Beach today was originally a marsh and sandbar that has been land filled. It was a place of spiritual significance for many indigenous people. In

4480-546: The pollution problem. Also, the 90-degree curve of the river into the concrete-lined Keating Channel increased the risk of flooding in the Port Lands. In 1912, the Toronto Harbour Commission started to develop the Ashbridge's Bay Reclamation Scheme. The plan was to drain and fill in the marsh in order to address health concerns, and to develop the area for industry and shipping. By 1922, 200 hectares of marsh were filled in, followed by another 200 hectares later in

4560-697: The poplar plains to the north. The name Don River was given by Lieutenant Governor Simcoe because the wide valley reminded him of the River Don in Yorkshire , England. Humans are believed to have first arrived in the Don River area approximately 12,500 years BP , most likely as nomadic hunters. While there is little archaeological evidence in the Don valley itself, regional finds in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence area have revealed that permanent settlements started to occur about 6000 BP. The most significant recorded find

4640-539: The rail service at the time, but according to a 2017 City of Toronto port, TPLC had the responsibility to keep the line open in case some future development in the area needs it. As of 2019, Google Maps showed that the line was severed at Commissioners Street to accommodate the construction of a building on the former right-of-way. In 1986, the City of Toronto created the Toronto Economic Development Corporation which since 2009 has operated under

4720-461: The regional geological history. The Don Valley Brick Works was an old brick making factory with a quarry where they extracted shale. At the rear wall, local geologists discovered a record of the past three glaciations. There are nine distinct layers visible dating back 120,000 years. Due to the urbanized nature of the watershed, the Don River experiences low base flows interspersed with high volume floods. The water level can rise very quickly following

4800-447: The river and its surrounding watershed. In 1788, Alexander Aitkin , an English surveyor who worked in southern Ontario, referred to the Don River as Ne cheng qua kekonk . Elizabeth Simcoe , wife of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe , reported in her diary that another name used was Wonscotanach . This is an Anishnaabe phrase meaning the river coming from the back burnt grounds , which could refer to an earlier forest fire in

4880-500: The river extension is the creation of Ookewmin Minising , at the north-west corner of Toronto's Port Lands . In the 1880s, sewers were laid through ravines in the Don Valley to carry sewage, offal and industrial effluents. Pollution and foul odours continued until the late 1950s. Since then, small improvements have been made. The city installed waste water storage tanks, required homeowners to disconnect downspouts, and swept streets for contaminants that flowed into waterways. Since 1979,

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4960-460: The river south past the Keating Channel (roughly parallel to the west side of the Don Roadway), and then west (roughly parallel to the south side of Commissioners Street) to a new mouth at Toronto Harbour . The man-made extension naturalized the river valley and provided new parkland. Since 2024, water now flows into the Keating Channel from the Don River and the new mouth of the river. A byproduct of

5040-484: The river, and there is a limited sports fishery. In October 2016, the city of Toronto announced the creation of a 200 acres (81 ha) Don River Valley Park that will stretch for 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the West Don Lands up to approximately Todmorden Village in the north. The park will have three zones, an urban zone from West Don Lands to Riverdale Park, a park zone from Riverdale north to Bloor and finally

5120-442: The river. Parks and wetlands will be completed in 2025 along this new water course, which will form the east and south side of the new island. The Keating Channel and Toronto Harbour are on the north and west side of the new island respectively. Mixed-use residential development is planned for Ookwemin Minising. The district is bounded on the north by Lake Shore Boulevard and on the east by Leslie Street . Cherry Street anchors

5200-400: The soccer pitches for practice while their own dedicated training facilities were being constructed at Downsview Park . Pukka Orchestra had a local radio hit in 1984 with the song "Cherry Beach Express." The song's name is a euphemism for the alleged police brutality committed on gay, indigenous, and homeless people at the beach between the 1940s and 1990s. The Toronto police tried to have

5280-543: The song banned. Parts of the music video for the Alessia Cara song " Wild Things " were filmed at Cherry Beach. Parts of the film Silent Hill: Revelation 3D were filmed at Cherry Beach. Toronto punk band Career Suicide named a 2008 EP after Cherry Beach. Port Lands The Port Lands (also known as Portlands ) of Toronto , Ontario , Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on

5360-423: The south, Regatta Road leads from Unwin Avenue to the sailing clubs on the outer harbour. The Port of Toronto is a 21-hectare (52-acre) container shipping facility and a cruise ship terminal along the eastern shore of the inner harbour operated by PortsToronto . PortsToronto also operates the large Outer Harbour Marina in between Cherry and Leslie Streets. The Portlands Energy Centre , a cogeneration power plant,

5440-488: The straightened river was also supposed to divert the polluted waters into the Ashbridges Bay marsh . This proved unsuccessful so the mouth was turned 90 degrees west where it empties into the inner harbour. This short extension of the harbour is known as the Keating Channel . The channel north of Lake Shore Blvd. East ceased being navigable when the Gardiner Expressway was constructed in the 1950s. Boats may still enter

5520-524: The studio of artist Max Dean, as well as the gallery and warehouse of the artist collective VSVSVS. The Rebel nightclub is located on Polson Street. Cirque du Soleil presented a touring version of several shows under the Grand Chapiteau on vacant lands of the area between 2007 and 2017. A tent holding up to 2,500 people was pitched on vacant land at the south-east corner of Cherry and Commissioners Streets. Don River (Ontario) The Don River

5600-465: The valley. At the intersection of Lawrence and the Parkway, the remains of the old village of Milneford Mills were removed. Bayview Avenue was extended south into the valley along the west bank of the valley. Increasing development reduced the natural areas of the watershed. This impacted the Don with increased pollution, heavy flooding, and turbid sediment laden waters. The combined result meant that by

5680-413: The watershed. In 1991 Bring Back the Don released a document called "Bringing Back the Don" which laid out plans for restoration, including a renaturalized mouth of the Don. In 1998 a plan to revive Toronto's waterfront was initiated. One of the four projects mentioned was a natural mouth for the Don River. In 2001 an environmental assessment was started to look into a natural mouth of the Don. The project

5760-577: The west side, providing access south from Lake Shore Boulevard to Cherry Beach . Commissioners Street and Unwin Avenue are two streets that span east–west between Cherry and Leslie Streets. Named after the members of the Toronto Harbour Commission, Commissioners Street is the spine across the area north of the ship channel. East of Leslie Street the road becomes North Service Road. Unwin Avenue (named for Charles Unwin , provincial and Toronto city surveyor, who surveyed Toronto Islands after 1858)

5840-487: Was 9 metres (30 ft) wide and trains on the line travelled at slow speed. By 2017, the Keating Yard had been reduced to a passing loop used to run the locomotive around its train. A train would operate every one to three weeks to bring five or six carloads of chemicals to the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant on the east side of Leslie Street. The Port of Toronto facility was not using

5920-636: Was a conical hill removed during the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct (commonly referred to as the Bloor Viaduct). "Tumper's Hill", near Don Mills Road, was flattened in the 1960s during the construction of the Don Valley Parkway . In the 1880s, the lower part of the Don south of the former Winchester Street bridge was straightened (east of the original mouth) and placed in a channel to create additional harbour space and industrial dock space for boats. Known as "The Don Improvement Project",

6000-592: Was also coupled with a plan to handle a major flood modeled on the expected output from a Hurricane Hazel size storm. In 2007, the Toronto Waterfront Development Corporation (now WaterfrontToronto) held a design competition that looked at four different configurations for the mouth of the Don. The winning bid was made by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates . The environmental assessment was completed in 2014 and construction began in 2016. In 2024, Waterfront Toronto announced that it had connected

6080-449: Was built on the 11 acres (4.5 ha) site of a former Esso oil tank farm. The first phase opened in 2008. The area along the south shore of the Port Lands has become mostly recreational. The Leslie Street Spit extends south from the Port lands and forms an outer harbour, sheltering a bird sanctuary and two boating marinas in the outer harbour. The south-western corner of the Port Lands

6160-422: Was one of the few Toronto beaches that was clean enough for swimming , windsurfing and kitesurfing ; It typically meets high water quality, environmental and safety standards; however, a 2012 environmental assessment found that the concentration of lead and zinc in the soil at Cherry Beach is above guidelines, which is attributed to previous industrial use of the area. The only other major stands of cottonwoods in

6240-404: Was successful in causing Shirriff to abandon the project in 1947. The Association continued its activities, planting tree seedlings, stopped the picking of wild flowers, particularly trilliums and preventing vandalism. The Association held educational events to educate the public about the Don Valley, including special trains through the valley, and a recreation of Lt. Governor Simcoe's journey up

6320-594: Was to make the Don "clean, green, and accessible". Since then they have hosted garbage cleanups, tree plantings, and help to create or restore eight wetlands in the lower reaches of the valley, including Chester Springs Marsh, a 3 hectares (7.4 acres) site south of the Bloor Viaduct. Other groups also became active including Friends of the Don East . In 1995, the MTRCA created the Don Watershed Regeneration Council to coordinate restoration efforts throughout

6400-539: Was visited yearly by students from across East York . Charles Sauriol was a historic protector of the Don. The western branch starts Vaughan , in the Maple district; flowing south-east through the suburban industrial area of Concord , and the G. Ross Lord Reservoir . It crosses Yonge Street as it flows through Hoggs Hollow , past York University 's Glendon ("valley of the Don") campus, and then flows on to Leaside , Flemingdon Park , and Thorncliffe Park before joining

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