Toronto Islands
From Freepedia
The Toronto Islands provide a shallow natural harbour for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A busy inland transhipment port trade was facilitated by the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway at Montreal. This advantage went into decline with the creation of extensive railway links and an export development plan which evolved over several changes in the Parliament of Canada.
The islands were originally a 9 km peninsula or sandy bar extending from the mainland. A fierce storm in 1858 washed away a sizeable portion of the connecting landmass and created the Eastern Gap. Originally the islands formed a single unified whole, but splintered when Hurricane Hazel hit in 1957. The area of the islands is about 2.3 km². The largest, outermost island, commonly called Centre Island, is crescent-shaped and forms the shoreline of both the Eastern and Western Channels. Algonquin and Olympic are two of the other major islands. What is commonly called Ward's Island is actually the eastern end of Centre Island. The land on which the airport was created by land fill and part of the former amusement park operated by the Toronto Ferry Company.
Hanlan's Point was once home to a baseball stadium. Babe Ruth once played here and hit his first professional home run into the water. The stadium on the site was demolished in 1937.
Geologically, the islands are composed of alluvial deposits from the erosion of the Scarborough Bluffs.
The human use of the islands has changed over the years. Industrial envelopment and landfill brought the shoreline approximately 900 feet (274 m) into the harbour from the natural shoreline of Front Street.
Currently (2005), a small residential community is located on Algonquin and Ward's Islands (see [1]). The inhabitants of this residential area lease the properties from the city in 99 year terms and there are strict rules for the buying and selling of the properties.
Island residents have fought the city over the years -- at various times the city has proposed the demolition of homes and the creation of a park on Algonquin and Ward's Islands.
The central area hosts a children's amusement park, Far Enough Farm, swimming beaches, including a nude beach, picnic grounds, and a boardwalk. The island also contains the Island Public and Natural Science School, rental artist studios and housing (Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts), a dragonboat regatta grandstand, and a water filtration plant. A clothing optional beach is found near Hanlan's Point on the western end of the Island. Three ferry routes connect Hanlan's Point, Centre Island and Ward's Island to Queen's Quay docks at the foot of Bay Street on the mainland. Recreational boating has been popular on the Islands for over a century. The Islands are home to three yacht clubs, the Island Yacht Club, the Queen City Yacht Club and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. There is a public marina, the Toronto Island Marina and several smaller clubs including the Toronto Island Sailing Club, the Sunfish Cut Boat Club and the Toronto Island Canoe Club. Waterfront Montessori Children's Centre, a non-profit, parent run co-operative childcare is also on Algonquin Island.
Toronto City Centre Airport (YTZ), formerly the Toronto Island Airport and still commonly known as the Island Airport, is located at the far west of the Islands and is reached by a separate, much smaller ferry from the foot of Bathurst Street. Guinness lists it as the world's shortest scheduled ferry run. The airport serves recreational aviation, medical emergency, regional business flights, and flight schools. There is no public access between the airport and the park. In 2002, Toronto's city council approved the controversial construction of a bridge to replace the airport ferry, but this was strongly opposed by David Miller, who won the 2003 mayoral election. One of Miller's first actions as mayor was to cancel the bridge construction.
Private cars are not permitted on any of the Islands. Indeed the Islands comprise the largest urban car-free community in North America. Service vehicles and some delivery vehicles are permitted however. Recreational bicyclists are accommodated on the ferries, and bicycles and quadricycles can be rented on the islands. The Marine Units of the Toronto Fire and Police Departments patrol the waters.
For a comprehensive and well-illustrated history of the Islands, read Sally Gibson's More Than an Island Toronto:Irwin, 1984.
Toronto Harbour
The makeup of the soil between the mainland and the island varies:
- Stone near the Western Gap
- Mud near the north shore, mouth of the Don River
- Sand near the airport and western parts of the island's north shore
- Clay near the centre of the harbour
See also
External links
- City of Toronto website about the Islands
- TorontoIsland.org, about the island community
- Toronto Islands
