Toronto is growing. It’s growing a little bit day by day as skyscraper foundations are dug and old buildings are demolished. As all of these things happen, the remains are being loaded in to trucks and driven to the east end of the city and then south toward the lake a road called Leslie Street.
The Leslie Spit is a project that began in the 1950’s when the harbour commission thought that freighter traffic was going to grow and a breakwater was needed. And so, since then, construction waste (bricks, concrete, dirt) has been hauled down there and added to the edge of existing land and grown the city inch by inch.
Beginning in the 70’s, more and more of the land was declared park land. It’s still an active landfill so during the day on weekdays the space is closed, but on weekends and evenings it is an excellent place to run and cycle. It’s also, thanks to its position on migration routes, one of the best places for birdwatching with more species seen there than in Algonquin National Park – a huge park in rural Ontario.
Being there feels like an escape. There are miles of trails and even the main road used by trucks during the weekdays is empty and prohibited to everything but the occasional park maintenance vehicle. So while you may be a mere 7-10 km from the busiest part of the city (less as the crow flies), it feels like a rural oasis.
If you look in the top, right-hand corner of the photo above you can see the spit – just a bit closer to us are the Toronto Islands, another car-free oasis (but also home to the Toronto Island Airport which you can see on the left hand side of the island. Just to the left of that is the downtown area.
If you look away from the city, toward the southeast, you can fool yourself in to thinking you’re 500 kilometres away in Northern Ontario. It’s that beautiful illusion that inspired me a few winters ago to ride my bike out there and cook myself breakfast.
But if you turn around, the CN tower is always there to remind you of where you are, or to help you find your way home if you get lost.
Inspired by this week’s Photo a Week Challenge on the subject of “water” over at Nancy Merrill Photography.
Go Outside Today 
What a creative solution to the trucked dirt.
i really loved Ontario and from your writing and photos see its magnificence yet again
I’m so glad! It really has its beautiful spots. It’s nice to share with others also as it helps me avoid taking it all for granted.
Now I’m hoping for lots of snow this winter so I can share that with you, knowing how much you like it. 🙂
oh that is very kind of you to remember I love snow. you share and write really descriptive and informative pieces. it’s always a pleasure to read. I hope you have the most snow this winter!!
Hi Todd, I live in the west end of this great city. From the aerial view I can see my street and Humber College. At the bottom of the photo you can clearly see the three beaches in Samuel Smith Park that were created from landfill. The photo that I took for this challenge was captured from the park at the end of my street. In your photo that park is the green rectangle that lies directly below the far propeller of the wing.
Oh nice – I’ve stopped at that park before when cycling to various points to the west of the city. It’s a lovely spot.
What a wonderful solution for demolition waste. Lovely photos. Thanks for joining the challenge!