Many thanks to Sarah Jensen (@the.heartofbarrie)
For joining my Toronto Jane’s Walk
And for sharing images
ReGrammed from her two posts :
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr4gdO_M3dR/
&
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr4lpNbsKZV/
“I’m in Toronto for the weekend for Jane’s Walk Toronto.
A Jane’s Walk is a walking conversations inspired by writer and urbanist Jane Jacobs.
They’re held in hundreds of cities across the world.
(Including 5 of them in Barrie throughout May)
Tonight’s walk through Parkdale Village and Exhibition Place shared ideas from her 11 books.
And it was led by HiMY, the guy who (somewhat illegally) paints Labyrinths all over Toronto! @LabyrinthsDOTca 👏
This first half of the walk featured community gardens, one of the ping pong tables I’ve been eyeing up for Barrie and Trenton Terrace, home to the most adorable workers cottages (that were once affordable).”
— Sarah Jensen, The Heart of Barrie
Grateful you found attending this evening’s Jane’s Walk worthwhile.
I did not make the connection between you and Barrie.
I know you have car-free days through the summer, I intend to pop up there in Barrie during one or more of them to chalk Labyrinths in the open car free public spaces.
I trust people will enjoy exploring & walking them.
Thank you for joining my Jane’s Walk!
“Such a great walk to start the weekend, thank you!
I’m based in Barrie, but in Toronto fairly often, especially the Parkdale area.
It’s one of my adopted neighbourhoods.
I enjoyed learning more about it and Jane.
We’d love to have you come to Barrie and create Labyrinths!
We’re running our car free Open Air Dunlops twice a month, starting June 10th.
Let me know if you’re coming up.”
— Sarah Jensen, The Heart of Barrie
Our Jane’s Walk began in front of the Parkdale Labyrinth
Inside Masaryk Park in Parkdale, Toronto.
I shared that since Childhood, Jane Jacobs was fascinated with Mazes and Labyrinths.
Cities as Labyrinths, without dead ends, rather than Cities as Mazes with many dead ends, is something that informed Jane Jacobs on her understanding of The City and its Streets, which comes through and can be found in her writings.
Jane Jacobs had at least one book about Mazes and Labyrinths on the shelf in her personal library at home, at the time of her passing in 2006.
Labyrinths and “Mazing” of streets by using one-way streets and forced turns for vehicles to improve quality of life inside residential neighbourhoods was something I did my best to express at the start of my Jane’s Walk.
Our Jane’s Walk made it as far as Fort Rouille located inside,
Or rather located as an interrupted concrete outline on the ground,
Within present day Exhibition Place.
Our final stop was opposite Ontario Place.
Here I suggested that “Ontario Place For All”,
The group aiming to save Ontario Place,
Should rename themselves as:
“Ontario Place for All, Austria Place for Some”
Because during the Spadina Expressway era,
Whenever the group was mentioned in print or on TV,
It included their SOS mandate:
“Stop Spadina Save Our City” [ Co-ordinating Committee ] .
Likewise “…Austria Place For Some”