The Bentway

History

The initial idea to transform the underside of the Gardiner Expressway into a public space came from Judy Matthews, a local Toronto urban planner, activist, and granddaughter of E. J. Lennox. On November 17, 2015, Matthews donated $25 million through the Judy and Wilmot Matthews Foundation to the City of Toronto, in order to realize the idea. The donation represented one of the most significant gifts in Toronto's history, and it was hoped that it would inspire other Torontonians to make similar philanthropic contributions to city-building initiatives. Waterfront Toronto, a revitalization agency representing the governments of Toronto, Ontario and Canada, was brought on board to collaborate with the city, along with Ken Greenberg Consultants Incorporated and Public Work to manage project planning and design.

The project was given the working name "Project: Under Gardiner". A public naming contest was launched in March 2016, and the public submitted 884 different name suggestions. A panel of 12 artists, policy experts and community leaders took the suggestions and whittled them down to a shortlist of four names: "The Artery," "The Bentway," "The Canopy," and "Gathering Place." The public voting between these four options occurred between April 28 and May 8, 2016. The Bentway remained a firm leader throughout the vote with The Artery behind in second place by 10 percentage points, but in the last hours before voting closed, Waterfront Toronto observed a surge in votes for The Artery. The legitimacy of the votes was questioned, and a second runoff vote was held between The Bentway and The Artery. On June 6, 2016, The Bentway was revealed as the new official winner of the naming contest.

Layout

The conceptual vision of The Bentway will consist of a 1.75 kilometres (1.09 mi) long multi-use trail between Exhibition GO Station to Spadina Avenue. It will also consist of 55 outdoor separate civic areas referred to as "rooms," which will host activities such as farmer's markets, gardens, performance theatres and exhibition halls, spanning three main sections. The Bentway will be completed in phases, with the first phase expected to be opened on July 1, 2017. The Bentway will span six Toronto neighbourhoods with a total of 77,000 residents: Liberty Village, Niagara, Fort York, Fashion District, CityPlace, and Harbourfront.

West

The west end of The Bentway spans Exhibition Place and Fort York, and is bisected by Strachan Avenue. The Hall of Making and the Innovation Hub, located west of Strachan Avenue, will utilize enclosed portions under the Gardiner that are used as storage space. A new green space to the north, Pioneering Green, will include a playground and urban agriculture. At Strachan Avenue, the trail will be grade separated underneath, but the Strachan Steps will provide stair and switchback access to the street. The trail proceeds east through the Active Hub, which will provide various arts and entertainment space.

Fort Central

The centre section of The Bentway spans the Fort York neighbourhood. The trail will proceed along the Fort Front, where natural and recreation spaces are provided. A bridge called the Iconic Crossing will then carry the trail across Fort York Boulevard, immediately east of June Callwood Park. The trail then enters the Passive Hub, a water-themed area, and then crosses Bathurst Street.

East

The east section of The Bentway stretches between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue. East of Bathurst, the Market Hub will provide a market setting next to a former Loblaws warehouse and headquarters. The trail then crosses Dan Leckie Way, and along the south end of Canoe Landing Park, which will be expanded under the Gardiner to include an offleash dog area and fitness area. As it approaches Spadina, the trail enters the Community Front, where a Community Centre for the CityPlace neighbourhood will be established in the future.