It’s Spring on Queens Quay, So We're Planting New Trees This Week
Out of all the tremendous improvements we’re making to the public realm and underground infrastructure along Queens Quay Boulevard West, I’m most excited about the more than 240 trees that will flank the Martin Goodman Trail and public promenade to the south and line the pedestrian sidewalk to the north.
By Mira Shenker
Planting began on the south side of Queens Quay yesterday. I noticed a bundle of new trees waiting to be planted at Bay Street. Once planted these trees will grow faster and thrive longer thanks to soil cell technology. Hidden below the Martin Goodman Trail will be 4,000 square meters of silva cells, giving each tree more room to spread its roots. The average lifespan of a Toronto street tree is six to eight years. These trees will live for sixty years or more. They’ll also grow faster than normal. The 33 maple trees we planted at Canada’s Sugar Beach in 2010 flourished into a substantial canopy within just three years. The photos in this post show how quickly Sugar Beach’s trees matured to form a canopy effect.
Left to right: Construction workers fill a soil cell with earth. Along the north side of Queens Quay, the trees have already been planted.
A central part of our revitalization plans for the waterfront is promoting healthy trees. We’re helping the City achieve its plan to grow Toronto’s tree canopy from approximately 17-20% to between 30-40% over the next 50 years.