Celebrating Scarborough’s ‘Meadoway’

One of Canada’s largest urban linear green spaces

Greetings, fellow Scarborough residents.

Convenient access to green space is a an important feature of healthy urban living. Scarborough is blessed with much green space, but it’s mainly in the eastern half, thanks to the Highland Creek and Rouge Valley watersheds, and of course the waterfront trail. But the western half of Scarborough doesn’t fare as well. We have an excellent network of waterfront parks and the Warden Woods park along the Taylor Massey watershed, but more innovative solutions are needed to create natural outdoor experiences on a grander scale.

Enter the Meadoway. Ever heard of it … or been on it?

The Meadoway is, for the most part, the Gatineau hydro corridor, which spans much of Scarborough, from the Golden Mile on the west to the Toronto Zoo and Rouge Park on the east. It’s now finding another life as a walking and cycling trail, surrounded by natural vegetation and, in some places, a restored meadow.

It all started in 2012, with a butterfly trail from Thomson Park to Scarborough Golf Club Road. In 2018, the Weston Family Foundation got involved. Their funding enabled the park to be envisioned on a much larger scale; from the Don Valley on the west to the Zoo and Rouge Park on the east.

Design and construction is being led by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), working with the City and the federal government. Together, they are creating what is now referred to as a “linear park”; transforming an uninviting power line corridor into a vibrant destination for outdoor recreation.

The trail is substantially complete, at least the Scarborough part. There are still some gaps and therefore some detours. But once it’s finished, it’ll provide 16 km of trails, linking river systems, parks, and meadows along the way. Scarborough will have one of the largest linear parks in Canada!

Let’s talk a bit about linear parks.

Linear parks are an innovative way to enhance green space in urban settings and connect communities in a way that neighbourhood parks are not designed to do.

There are many other examples, both here and beyond. Perhaps you’re familiar with the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail in the old City of Toronto, which repurposed the old Toronto Belt Line Railway, which closed in the 1960s. This 9 km trail opened in the 1990’s and connects the west end of old Toronto with Mount Pleasant Cemetery. There are linear parks in the United States too: the High Line in New York City and the BeltLine in Atlanta being the most notable examples. So, here in Scarborough, TRCA and its partners are leveraging this collective knowledge for our benefit.

SCRO is paying attention to all this and, in particular, the lessons being learned:

· the importance of green space to a healthy urban ecosystem,

· the need for governments to work together to repurpose public infrastructure,

· the importance of a philanthropic partner that is inspired by the concept and, of course,

· a public asset to work; a “blank canvass” that can be repurposed in this manner.

Scarborough aspires to be a complete community. That includes as much green space as we can wring out of a dense urban landscape.

Linear parks like the Meadoway are a great way of bringing a greater purpose to our public infrastructure to enhance the enjoyment of living in an urban environment, especially here in Scarborough.

The federal election is on April 28. Scarborough’s participation matters!

While there may fewer candidate forums than usual in this election, given the short writ period and the dominance of one particular issue that is national in scope, it’s important that we are all engaged.

And please vote. Nothing improves accountability more than an informed and an engaged electorate.

If your local community association is able to organize an event, I encourage you to attend.