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What to do? Should we stop all further downtown development? Raze 600 acres of prime downtown real estate and plant grass and trees and benches and fountains? A hyperloop to High Park, perhaps? Or a hoverpark! Council has directed staff to study things at least half as far-fetched.

I propose a simpler, cheaper, more realistic solution than any of those ideas, and indeed much cheaper than the Rail Deck Park: Eliminate the absurd logistical and financial barriers that stand between the city and 800 whopping acres of A-plus downtown parkland we already have. I speak, of course, of the Toronto Islands — as far across the harbour from downtown as the waterfront is from Dundas Street, and a couple of minutes’ walk from the foot of Bathurst Street or Cherry Beach, if only terrestrial transportation were available.

Compared to decking over a rail corridor, the physical barriers are much easier to close: the tunnel to Billy Bishop Airport wound up costing $82.5 million, but the eastern gap seems like a much less daunting engineering challenge. And while I love the Island Airport to pieces, now that downtown is linked by rail to Pearson I’d have a hard time arguing against a sensible plan to turn it into a park and cede the tunnel to masses.

In the meantime, especially considering how minor the physical barriers are, the economic barriers are unconscionable: A family with two teenagers pays $25 for the privilege of a ferry ride to a public park — all to offset annual gross operating costs for the ferries of just $8 million. I wouldn’t argue to limit access to the Islands, but if that’s your goal, surely doing so by income is the most politically incorrect method conceivable.

Providing downtown residents with adequate parkland is a moral imperative, Rail Deck Park supporters insist. And they insist it will be for all Torontonians, not just those who live downtown. By the same logic, I submit the Toronto Islands can no longer be kept under lock and key.

National Post

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