Sherbourne Common
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Canada, has faced many unique challenges as it has sought to transform its industrial waterfront into an accessible place for recreation. When Waterfront Toronto was formed in 2001 to revitalize 800 hectares along Lake Ontario, the East Bayfront precinct was funneling huge amounts of sewage and polluted stormwater runoff into the lake.
Photo: Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. East Bayfront Precinct Master Plan / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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While the city hoped to draw people to the waterfront through a set of new parks, the precinct was prone to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during heavy rains, which resulted in untreated sewage being discharged into the lake.
Photo: The Toronto Star. Brown Sewage Overflow in Lake Ontario / Jim Panou
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To address this problem, Sherbourne Common was created to be both park and stormwater treatment plant. Sitting on the shore of Lake Ontario, Sherbourne Common prevents stormwater from the district from entering the lake. According to landscape architecture firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, it’s the first Canadian park to use an ultraviolet (UV) purification technology in a neighborhood-scale stormwater treatment plant.
Photo: ASLA 2013 Professional General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Waterfront Toronto
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Stormwater drives the organization of the park – it’s the basis of a system that educates the public about the importance of keeping Lake Ontario clean.
Photo: ASLA Honor Award Recipient. Sherbourne Common / Aristea Rizakos / GrasshopperReps.com
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Underneath the public bathrooms, a series of disinfecting machines use ultraviolet light (UV) – rather than chlorine – to clean stormwater run-off from surrounding roads, highways, and buildings.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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Once collected and UV-treated, purified water move through the underground system and then emerges to gently cascade down three 9-meter tall art sculptures, called “Light Showers,” which rise from the ground.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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The water then passes through a bio-filtration bed planted with aquatic grasses and is directed into a 240-meter long water channel.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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As the water travels down the channel and reaches the center of the park it passes through a jewel-like pavilion and is ultimately discharged into Lake Ontario. During winter, the area around the pavilion turns into a skating rink framed by frozen fountains.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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Other sustainable features include nearly 200 native or regionally-adapted trees, which contribute to Toronto city government's ambitious tree cover goals. Native plants throughout the park are well adapted to Toronto’s climate, which reduces the need for any extra irrigation.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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The park incorporates a high percentage of locally-available materials, light-colored permeable paving surfaces to reduce the urban heat island effect, and special light fixtures to reduce light pollution.
Photo: ASLA 2013 General Design Honor Award. Sherbourne Common / Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
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Project Facts
- The 3.6 acre, $30 million project is a novel hybrid: it’s both a park and a stormwater treatment plant that reduces stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into Toronto’s Lake Ontario.
- The park was transformed from a brownfield into one of the Toronto waterfront’s main green space in 2011.
- Sherbourne Common’s stormwater treatment uses Ultraviolet (UV) technology instead of chlorine to treat the water. After UV treatment the water flows through a 240-meter long urban river, a bio-filtration bed, and is then released into Lake Ontario.
- Sherbourne Common is the first park in Canada to receive LEED gold certification.
- The park contains about 182 native or regionally adapted trees: 108 Pacific Sunset Maple, 45 Red Oak, and 29 American Beech.
- The park incorporates locally-available materials, extensively uses light-colored permeable paving surfaces to reduce the urban heat island effect, and uses special light fixtures to reduce light pollution.
PROJECT TYPE
- Urban
- Waterfront
- Park
- Brownfield
Environmental Benefits
- Cleans Water
- Ecologically Manages Stormwater
- Recycles Materials
- Reintroduces Native Plants
- Reduces Urban Heat
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