Canary in the Pan Am Nest: A Jane's Walk

Let Adam Cohoon and Jennifer Conroy show you where the Force is strong in Canary District — and where it isn't (yet).

Join us for a walk in which we examine the accessibility of arts and public culture space in urban planning and community in general, and in Canary District in particular. We will start at the lamppost sculpture on Front Street (434 Front St. East, near Cherry). After looping around the neighbourhood, the walk will end at the water guardian sculpture less than a block away.

Eleven years after the Pan Am Games and 10 years after the first residents started moving in, we explore the strengths and weaknesses, the good and the bad, and the stuff we are still trying to work on in a community. For years this community was built more by people that didn't live here. Now people in the community are starting to work harder on having a say, and today we have our own neighbourhood association. We'll talk about what life was like before the pandemic, without some of these amenities; the strengths and learnings during the pandemic; and how the changes to the Ontario Line, Metrolinx Construction, and adjustments to City planning are still changing the neighbourhood.

The walk, which will last ±60 minutes, is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all. Whether you're a long-time resident or new to the neighbourhood, we encourage you to join us. After the walk, there will be extra time for debriefing, if desired.

The main transit stops are Front Street on 514 C or Cherry Street on 121 buses. Look out for us, Adam and Jen, sitting in our power wheelchairs near the sculpture.