Improvements to a stretch of parkland in a hydro corridor in the Dufferin Street and Dupont Avenue area could take a another step forward this week if a $3.4-million tender is approved.
A bid award panel on Wednesday will consider whether to OK a contract to Ferdom Construction for work on the new Green Line Park on Geary Avenue — a street that has seen an influx of buzzy bars and restaurants in recent years.
The contract is for the supply and delivery of all labour, materials, equipment, and work supervision and is expected to end by Dec. 31, 2025, according to a city notice.
Noted in the tender documents are general improvements and community gardens.
Approximately five kilometres in length, the Green Line will eventually connect neighbourhoods and expand the open space network in midtown and west Toronto, according to the city.
The Green Line crosses numerous roads, from quiet local streets to busy arterials. The goal is to safely connect parks and sidewalks together into one cohesive open space, the city says.
Work to date has resulted in an increase in pedestrian traffic in the area and interest from the city's creative community to set up shop there, often in former industrial buildings.
The work on Geary Avenue would be one of several projects involved in expanding the number of parks in the corridor and linking them.
"The creation of a connected series of open spaces within the Dupont hydro corridor has been a goal of local citizens and the City of Toronto since before amalgamation," the city says in an overview of the plan posted to toronto.ca.
The plan was pushed forward with a design competition, as well as the efforts of the charity group Park People.
The city has licensed several parcels in the corridor and operates them as parkland, some having existed as parks since the 1970s.
Many of the parcels within the corridor remain undeveloped, leaving the parks disconnected and the corridor discontinuous, the city says.
Learn more about the Green Line at this link.
