JERRY ENGLAR'S WIND PARK

Jerry and Leida Englar have dedicated themselves to leading a protest every Friday afternoon from 5-7 at the airport entrance until that great day the airport is closed.

Following is an elegant design for the island airport lands that has been developed by retired landscape architecture professor, Jerry Englar. His design has the virtue of reusing the airport site, more or less as it is, with the park built around clean wind and solar energy generating installations. Built into the design are many different attractions that will enhance the park and delight visitors.

Conceptual Thoughts
a recycled airfield and energy park in a natural and formal park setting

1. Close airfield to aviation traffic and enforce existing park zoning
2. Retain existing runways and airport structures as foundation for design
3. Locate 3 wind turbines at ends of runways (750 kw)
4. Locate solar collectors along the east west runway forming the solar promenade
5. Existing buildings used for the following:
   First Nations cultural and heritage facilities Airport history museum Showcase Canadian built planes Bicycle velodrome, headquarters for human powered devices Skate board park Youth and Elder hostel 6. Encourage theatre arts, movie production and related commercial
6. Consider races on runways by human powered devices connected with activities at velodrome
7. Contruct pond and hill
8. Plant a healing circle
9. Formal tree arrangements
10. Develop environmentally sensitive areas
11. Construct beach facilities
12. Connect programmes with Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, Island Natural Science School and Harbourfront
13. Promote Great Lakes tourism about Island uniqueness and natural history
14. Seasonal festivals
15. Wildlife observation and hostel accommodations
16. Transportation: CO2 emissions -free vehicles
17. Promote human and natural energy alternatives
18. Keep the island an island
19. No bridge required. Supports existing island ferries.

Highlights of energy park design

1. Utilizes the winds on the waterfront to generate electrical power and reduce CO2 emissions.
2. Cost effective
3. No need to deconstruct runways
4. Creates an energy education destination for schools and visitors to Toronto
5. Creates a positive forward looking "image of the City"
6. Embraces and promotes native culture and history
7. Stops polluting the waterfront
8. No changing of the waters edge by cutting or filling
9. Stops requiring taxpayers paying 4.5 million dollars to subsidize failing airline companies
10. No expensive bridge required

Features

• Historic square honouring Toronto's first airport
• Healing circle
• Shallow pond and model sailing
• Hill from excavation
• Planes as sculpture
• Solar promenade
• Wind turbines (75kw)
• Beach facilities, washrooms, change rooms, canoe and kayak rentals and simple boat construction
• Reforestation extension of existing ESA
• Public beach
• Existing airport buildings recycled
• Ship mooring
• Sports fields
• 2 rows of coniferous trees
• 2 rows of red maples
• Flowering trees
• Revitalized Ned Hanlan's Memorial Garden
• Alternate velodrome location
• Existing Hanlan's Point ferry docks
• Water Taxi Station
  

Credits
Base drawing credit Unique Media "Downtown Toronto" 1999
Precedents and references: Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington
Granville Island Park, Vancouver, B.C.
Niagara Parks Commission, Royal Commission on the future of the Island Airport.

Designed and Drawn by J. Englar 02/14/03
32 Omaha Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 1Z9
416-203-1006
torontoisland.org