Posts Tagged ‘Ship Channel’

Sunlight shining – Biidaasige – and Lookout too.

Posted: September 6, 2025 in construction, locations, nature, waterfront
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A new park in the Port Lands has opened.  Biidaasige Park.  Biidaasige translates to “sunlight shining towards us”.

new mouth of the Don River, flowing into Lake Ontario, through Biidaasige Park on toronto eaterfront, toronto city downtown in the background

It is centered around the new mouth of the Don River, with lots of walking and cycling paths that wind along the shores and through the newly planted shrubs, trees, and other native plants.

north end of new yellow bridge in the portlands, over the Don River, with walking trail along the river, Lafarge cement in the background

newly planted trees along path in biidaasige park, with toronto downtown in the background

a mother pushing a stroller walks on path n biidaasige park, toronto skyline and highrises in the background,

There is also a large playground where plenty of adventures await!

two white scottie dogs, scottish terriers, at playground at biidaasige park

kids on a zip line at biidaasige park

How many animals can you spot?

playground structure made of old logs, looks like a beaver dam, with wood sculptures of beavers on top

large wood playground structure in the shape of a raccoon

large wood playground structure in the shape of a raccoon

boy jumping off a large wood carving painted to look like a giant eagle, biidaasige park playground

large white wood play structure in the shape of a snowy owl

large white wood play structure in the shape of a snowy owl, in a playground

cyclists on path, biidaasige park, beside raccoon play structure

group of people using the new grills, barbecues, at biidaasige park

walking and biking path through biidaasige park towards red bridge on commissioners street

Don River flows through wetlands and grssy area, towards new red bridge, port lands

two women on the shore of DOn River

greenery, shrubs and plants in foreground, lafarge cement, yellow bridge in background, biidaasige park, don river

newly planted trees in front of Don River as it goes under new yellow bridge

water lilies in don river, a walking path beside the river

small access area to Don River with walking and cycling path, biidaasige park,
two pale purple chickory flowers poke their heads out from between slats of a wood fence

A black wasp has found a swamp milkweed flower.

a black wasp on top of a pink flower of a swamp milkweed plant

below: The washroom facilities are still temporary (I hope!) but at least they exist….

temporary toilet faciities in a portable building, white, by sidewalk, port lands, by biidaasige park

workmen doing garden work in park at portlands, with lafarge cement silos in the backgroun

… But there is more.  Biidaasige is not the only new park in the area.  Just to the east is the new Leslie Lookout Park that features this 10m tower that references the areas industrial history.  It echos the silos of the past and provides an elevated viewing area.

path leading to Leslie Lookout park, and its repurposed concrete tower

below: The park is at the east end of the Ship Channel

view from tower at leslie lookout park, along ship channel to the west

inside the leslie lookout park tower, looking northwest towards city skyline

sand beach and muskoka chairs at leslie lookout, overlooking ship channel, and next to an industrial site

at leslie lookout, towards CN Tower and city ckyline, overlooking ship channel,

Both parks are just part of the redevelopment of the Port Lands.  The area has always been industrial, and many industries remain.  Construction continues on other areas

below: Unwin Avenue

Unwin Ave looking east towards the Hearn generating station and its very tall smokestack

below: The old Hearn Generating Station still sits empty.  It was built in the 1950s as a coal powered generating station but it was decommissioned in 1983.   It has been used as a movie set location or as a backdrop for art installations but because of the huge costs involved (especially with cleaning up the interior to present day safety standards) this heritage site is vastly underused.

hearn generating station building, behind fence with vines growing on it

below: But now there is a development notice sign on the fence. Its present owner, Studios of America,  has applied to redevelop the 30 acre site to include condos as well as other mixed uses.

hearn generating station building, with blue and white development notice sign on the fence

hearn generating station building and driveway with gate

sign saying construction zone ends is lying on the ground surround by weeds including yarrow

a dump truck parked beside a large pile of dirt, industrial site behind it

constuction, workmen and equipment, working along the banks of the new mouth of the Don River, as seen from under the yellow bridge

dump truck on street, across intersection from a group of cyclists

a cyclist rides on Commissioners street in the port lands

on a utility pole, two signs, one with arrow pointing right for Don Valley Parkway north, and one toronto city street sign for Villiers street

villiers street scene

abrupt end of the elevated portion of the Gardiner Expressway on the north side of port lands redevelopment activity at the corner of Villiers and Munitions

dump truck on flattened pile of dirt, immediately south of end of the gardiner expressway

port lands redevelopment activity at the corner of Villiers and Munitions

a small orange and white cone covers the top of a pipe coming up from underground, a bulldozer in the background, vacant land, just dirt

red dump truck releasing its load of dirt, adding to dirt on vacant lot in port lands

bulldozer, or front end loader with load of brown soil, heads out gate of construction site towards road, CN TOwer and toronto skyline in the distance

graffiti, bright red heart on a wood pole, with other sctibbles and scrawls on it

graffiti sticker of a poodle head by dogma, beside red arrow pointing to fire extinguisher

black eyed susans, yellow flowers with black centers

another bridge is open – Port Lands again

Posted: June 17, 2024 in construction, locations, public art, transportation, waterfront
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view of cn tower from port of toronto, with buoys, on land, in front, as well as a parking lot

Welcome back! Bienvenuti!  A colourful sign to welcome you and visitors to Toronto.  I’m not sure how many visitors get to see this banner!

sign saying welcome to toronto in many different languages

The Port of Toronto has almost become an obscure corner of the city.  It’s certainly not where most tourists arrive in the city!  Nor is it a place where residents venture.

welcome sign in different languages, puddle in front, large green and orange buoys, on land, reflections in the puddle

below: Once there was a ferry between Toronto and Rochester that docked here but it didn’t last long.  Now there are a few cruise ships that stop here.  The building would be almost deserted if Netflix hadn’t taken over some of the space.

building on pier, beside waterfront, with chainlink temporary fence, sign says Toronto Port or Port of Toronto

below:  The fragments of railway track are reminders of the industrial past.

metal fence across old railway tracks on a pier, beside waterfront, Lake Ontario, Port of Toronto

below: There are bits of track scattered all over the Port Lands

fence across old railway tracks with industrial site beyond

below: The Port is much quieter but there is still activity.  These long metal bars that are neatly stacked on shore were probably recently offloaded.

stacks of 40 foot long rebar on the waterfront, port of toronto, recently unloaded from a boat
view through chainlink fence on pier, a yacht is exiting the harbour, toronto skyline in the background

below: Boats in the Ship Channel.  The redevelopment plan for the Port Lands has always included the retention of the Ship Channel.  The sand and salt for Toronto’s roads is delivered here.

ships in the Shipping Channel

below:  At the east end of the Ship Channel, a new park is being developed – Leslie Lookout Park.   The concrete cylindrical structure is a lookout tower so there will be views over a man-made beach (that appears white in the photo).  The beach is larger in real life than it looks like in the photo.

new park being developed

below: Can you see the little sliver of blue water?  That is the Ship Channel.

behind chainlink fence, new park being developed, on shipping channel so water is just visible in the photo

below: Looking south on Munitions Street

munitions street, port lands, construction, all gone but old fire hall and white building film studio

below: Toronto Firehall, Station 30, built in 1928 still stands.  It is a heritage building and if the plans are followed, it will be repurposed.

munitions street, port lands, construction, all gone but old fire hall

entrance to old metal clad building, tree in front, no trespassing sign on door, no parking sign beside door

below: The redevelopment of the Port Lands has involved a lot of infrastructure changes.  Roads have been changed, rivers have been diverted, bike lanes and better sidewalks have been created.  At times it has been confusing to navigate through.

traffic signs, signals, and new construction in Port lands

below: The new Commissioners Street bridge is in, and there is water running under it.  There is now a river on land that was once industrial.   On the north side of the bridge there is a bike lane and a wide sidewalk.

red and white curvy bridge, commissioners street bridge, dark clouds in the sky,

below: The bridge offers new vistas of the city.  Many new trees have been planted.

view northwest from commissioners street bridge, over river and park with many newly planted trees, to downtown toronto skyline

view north from commissioners street bridge, towards Gardiner Expressway, and Lakeshore

below: Lakeshore Blvd crosses the Don River on a very low bridge (like before) while the ramps between the Gardiner and the DVP curve above it.

view north and slightly east from commissioners street bridge, ramp from Gardiner to DVP with Lakeshore crossing river
below: Just be careful because there is no sidewalk on the south side (why not?? for the sake of saving money on 4 extra feet??)

cyclists crossing commissioners street bridge
commissioners street bridge, mostly sky with lots of clouds

below: The same sleek curvy design seen in the previous bridges is repeated here.

red and white curves of the commissioners street bridge

below: Another series of photographs of the work being done here, by Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker

large photograph on a billboard in front of large concrete silos, port lands,
below: One photograph is mounted on the roll-up door of one of the ESSROC cement plant silos

large photograph mounted on door of garage on concrete silo

below: Like the previous series of images, most of the photographs are displayed down the center of what remains of Villiers Street,  on top of the remains of the old railway line.

large photo image on display beside street, in front of building with cranes beside it

below: One more photograph on what remains of Villiers Street – and in the background, what remains of the eastern end of the Gardiner Expressway.

construction in port lands, villiers street torn up, photograph on display in center, gardiner expressway in the background

below: Southeast corner of Villiers and Cherry

old bank building with columns, stone, on southeast corner of villiers and cherry

below: One original bridge remains, the one with the long name – Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge.

cherry street straus trunnion bascule bridge, with person holding stop sign, construction on the bridge

lifeguarding station at cherry beach, old white wood building, with look out tower and flag pole,

below: The first of the new bridges that was actually operational is the south Cherry Street bridge, the yellow one.

yellow and white cherry street bridge

below: The second new bridge on Cherry Street is now in use.  For months we’ve been able to take pictures of the side of it as we stood on the old Cherry Street bridge. (see The New Cherry Street Bridge from Nov 2020).  Maybe one day in the future there will be a streetcar on the east part of the bridge.    As you can see, the rain came and we bailed.  Better pictures of the bridge will have to wait for a future post!

new cherry street bridge from the south, double bridge, one side for cars, bike, and pedestrians. The other side is for transit but so far there is no transit here

below: The old Cherry Street bridge is gone and the road has been rerouted. The old jog in Cherry at Lakeshore is gone.

rubble and digger removing old cherry street bridge, distillery district condos in the background

rubble and digger removing old cherry street bridge, distillery district condos in the background

below: Misdirection.

green and white sign that says cherry street continues one block north of Lakeshore

below: Trying to see the new bridge from the site of the old bridge but there seems to be a construction site in the way.

new cherry street bridge, red, and white, seen from site of old bridge

below: Continuing north on the now straight Cherry Street.  Any ideas what that white structure is ahead?  It runs parallel to the railway line at track level and crosses Cherry Street just south of the railway underpass.

a red car waits at a red light on Cherry at Lakeshore. The Gardiner Expressway passes overhead. Distillery District and Corktown are straight ahead

We now exit the Port Lands and finish today’s explorations…. with the exception of one quick note…. I noticed that the old Canary Diner on Cherry is now painted a reddish orange colour.  It looks like it is being renovated.   A story for another day!

TTC streetcar, route 504, in front of repainted canary diner on cherry street, old three storey brick building

toronto skyline in the background, with boats docked on piers, rubber dinghy in foreground

hydro transmission towers with the cn tower in the background