Eglinton Park Implementation - Phase I

PLANT’s 2019 Eglinton Park masterplan strategized ways to incorporate new passive recreation opportunities into what has long been a major community hub for organized sports, while also giving this basin-shaped park a stronger street presence along Eglinton Avenue. The plan’s now-complete Phase 1A implementation drew on consultation with local Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups and has laid the infrastructural groundwork for myriad future improvements. Its key organizing element is an illuminated north-south spine, with spurs branching east and west from this central path. The path’s paving pattern evokes Mud Creek, which once flowed through the site. The Fibonacci spiral of a sunflower’s seeds has inspired the paving pattern for the circular plaza of a pollinator garden near the park’s centre.

Phase 1A has enhanced an existing community garden embodying Indigenous design principles with weathering-steel interpretive panels and a new pathway border. Engraved stones along the park’s central path highlight key points from Bob Joseph’s book, 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act.
Phase 1A also includes a laneway path along the northeast portion of the park. At the west entry, a new, illuminated metal stair with a bike rail has replaced an aging wood stair, reorienting its landing point in the park basin for better integration with existing and future elements. The location of an existing soccer pitch has shifted slightly for integration with the new path, and the park has been extensively regraded for improved accessibility. Phase 1B will activate the Eglinton Avenue frontage with a skate spot and basketball court.