In Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.At Ontario Place, they did the opposite. A new $30-million, 7.5-acre waterfront park opened Monday on the site of a revitalized parking lot at the once-popular lakeside provincial attraction that was shuttered in 2012. Premier Kathleen Wynne literally cut the ribbon on the new 1.3 km William G. Davis Trail, named for the man who launched Ontario Place in 1971. “Our vision for a transformed Ontario Place honours our history, our people, and our landscape,” Wynne said of the Trillium Park. “I am so pleased that a new generation can begin to build memories here,” she said. The vast majority of Ontario Place — including the iconic geodesic Cinesphere dome remains closed — but the government is hopeful Trillium Park and the Davis trail will rekindle public interest in the facility. Located near the Echo Beach concert stage, it consists of 1,200 newly planted trees, 28,000 shrubs and perennials, 1,700 tonnes of Muskoka granite from the Huntsville quarry, and repairs to about 600 metres of shoreline. Some 52,000 cubic metres of soil were brought in — 3,700 truckloads — with more than half of that excess from a suburban development. Chief Stacey LaForme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit said the park “restores” the natural beauty of the shore and “pays tribute” to Indigenous peoples as stewards of the land. “As the city continues to expand, it is important that we continue to create spaces like this park that reflect and respect Mother Earth for the people who live, work, and play in Ontario,” said LaForme. In a statement, Davis, who was premier from 1971 to 1985, said he was “honoured by the beautiful trail.”“Once again, Ontario Place will be a gathering spot for the people of this province to come together,” he said.
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