The Midtown Ravines Group is now in its ninth year of advocacy on behalf of ravines in the area. In our view, 2026 will be a particularly important and exciting year for the Vale of Avoca.
The City is developing a master plan for the Vale of Avoca. This plan will chart a path for the comprehensive remediation of our greatly deteriorated local environmental treasure. Repair work on some of the long-closed access routes into the ravine will also start this year.
To catch up with ongoing developments, we’re inviting you to attend one of two upcoming online sessions to hear from volunteers working on the Avoca project. We are keen to involve you and other members of our community as the project proceeds. We invite you to let us know how you’d like to contribute.
Information Session 1 – Wednesday, February 18, 7 to 8 p.m.
Information Session 2 – Saturday, February 21, 10 to 11 a.m.
The meeting format will include a brief (10-15 minute) presentation, followed by time for your questions. The presentation will summarize progress to date and what may happen over the coming year.
Opportunities to get involved
We aim to expand our volunteer organization, with a number of work streams for interested people to join. Potential areas of focus include, for example:
- Ravine vision and values (trails, resilience, park features, heritage, etc.)
- Ecology (native plants, invasives, restoration strategy, education)
- Outreach (events, communication, engagement, social media, fundraising)
How we organize this work will depend on sign-up interest and the capabilities people can bring to the project.
Development of an Avoca Master Plan
City Council has allocated $1.5 million towards a detailed planning exercise and is currently hiring an engineering consultant or consortium to develop a master plan for the ravine. This work will focus on erosion control and trails layout, building on engineering work previously commissioned by Toronto Water (the Vale of Avoca Geomorphic Systems study) and on the community ravine plan proposal circulated by MRG last year. The consultant’s work will provide detailed engineering and construction plans along with estimated costs.
Community input into the City Master Plan exercise will take several forms. Last July, City Council established an Avoca project working group including City/Toronto and Region Conservation Authority staff, MRG representatives, and our councillors, to oversee the planning process as it develops. Community views will be reflected in MRG input at the project working group.
Once an initial set of recommendations has been drafted by the consultant, the City will organize public meetings for additional community input (probably some time next autumn). Final recommendations and designs will be developed after the public review.
We hope that your involvement and that of other interested community members will allow for expanded public input throughout the planning process.
