Leaside residents are invited to celebrate their home by walking tomorrow (Saturday, May 7, 2016) Two Jane’s Walk events named in the honour of the late urbanologist Jane Jacobs will be held. The first begins at 10 a.m. starting from the public library at 165 McRae Drive. It will last 90 minutes and will be led by Geoff Kettell and Connor Turnbull. Information describing the walk notes that Leaside was laid out in 1913 by the landscape architect Frederick Gage Todd who based his design on the Garden City principles which are best exemplified by Letchworth in England. The Garden City is said to differ from suburbs in that along with curvilinear tree-lined streets, public green spaces, and cohesive streetscapes, they also include an industrial area to provide employment and commercial streets for convenient shopping. It says that when people walk through Leaside today they see it as a neighbourhood of Toronto. But the walk will ask what is the experience when one examines Leaside through the lens of the Garden City framework as a designed landscape?
PREMIER WYNNE WALK ON LAIRD
The second walk is one-hour long and starts at 4 p.m. It will be led by none other than the Premier Kathleen Wynne (Don Valley West). This walk will find its way from the Premier’s constituency office, 795 Eglinton Ave. E. and proceed down Laird Drive exploring the residential, industrial and commercial mix to be seen. Notes produced for this walk comment on the need to strike the right balance in planning and land use on Laird. The Premier will have with her community-builder Jane Farrow and urban designer Joe Lobko. Along the way the group will discuss pedestrian safety, local history, complete streets and design solutions. Below are seen a group of walkers who did Jane’s Walk on Friday, May 6, 2016. 
