Port Union, Toronto

Port Union
Neighbourhood
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	Scarborough
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from Scarborough
Government
• MP	Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough-Rouge Park)
• MPP	Wayne Arthurs (Pickering—Scarborough East)
• Councillor	Ron Moeser (Ward 44 Scarborough East)

Port Union, also known as Centennial Scarborough is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-east corner of Toronto, within the former suburb of Scarborough. The neighbourhood is bounded by Kingston Road to the north, Port Union Road to the east, the Lake Ontario shoreline to the south, and Highland Creek to the west.

The neighbourhood originated as the small lakefront town of Port Union in the 19th century, within the area now known as West Rouge, until 1974 part of the Township of Pickering. It was later developed as a suburban bedroom community after the Second World War. Since the 1990s, the industrial lands along the waterfront have been transformed into new subdivisions, along with a paved walkway and bike path along the shore of Lake Ontario. The neighbourhood has many mature trees, parkland and waterfront. It is an affluent neighbourhood with 93% home ownership.

History

The original village of Port Union was founded in the early to mid-1800s immediately south-east of the current-day intersection of Port Union Rd and Lawrence Avenue. While currently part of Toronto, the original area of the community was within Pickering Township. By 1865 the community had a post office.

In 1974, as part of the municipal government reforms that introduced the Regional Municipality of Durham, the West Rouge area of Pickering (bordered by Port Union Rd in the west, the Rouge River in the east, and Twyn Rivers Drive in the north) was annexed by Scarborough, which in turn was amalgamated into Toronto in 1998.

Development and regeneration

In 1976, a proposal for the regeneration and restoration of the old harbour lands at the southern terminus of Port Union road was proposed by the NANCY-GRIFFOn Foundation Inc and was fully supported by Mayor Gus Harris [and all subsequent Mayors except Joyce Trimmer who blocked the project along with Controller Ken Morish and the Parks Commissioner Bruce Fleury and Metro Parks Commissioner Robert Bundy. In 1979 the Foundation was incorporated and a fund raising drive was started. Of note was the enthusiastic support of the Commissioner of the Toronto and Regional Conservation Authority, Mr.Dave McLean, then Craig Mather and finally Mr. Brian Denny, in succession. Finally in 2001 land acquisition was begun by the TRCA with public funding. While the old winter harbour can not be restored, the summer harbour and the lands associated with it are being regenerated under a design concept called the King's Harbour Marine Park sponsored by the Nancy Griffon Foundation since 1976 for the restoration of "Olde Port Union" including the re-opening of the old "Adams Creek" as required under the Environmental Assessment which flowed from north of the current Hwy 401 into Lake Ontario. This time the Adams Creek will flow into the restored Port Union sailing harbour and marina.

It should be mentioned that the industrial asbestos plant, was located at the junction of Port Union Road and Lawrence Ave. I do not know the dates.

Asbestos hazard at the former Johns Manville Company site which continued asbestos manufacturing under a company called Manson. See letter below.http://www.ccranews.com/manson/htm/baron-1.htm

We are a community association representing more than 3,000 families. Our community is located in the Southeast corner of the former City of Scarborough (bounded by Lake Ontario on the south, Highland Creek on the west, Highway 2A on the north and Port Union Road on the east). Within this area are the lands formerly occupied by the Johns Manville Company (JM) which was a manufacturer of asbestos pipe and other products containing asbestos. JM sold both their plant and their patents to a company called Manson. The site then became known as the Manson site as it still is today. The soil surrounding the plant was contaminated with asbestos as well as other toxic substances and has been a concern to the area residents since asbestos was determined to be a hazardous material.

During the 1980s a major portion of the site was remediated by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and has since been developed for family homes. This remediation took place under strict controls only after this community association raised strong objections to the original method. Our objections resulted in the MOE holding a lengthy hearing in which we played a major role. Recently the remaining portion of this land including the Manson plant was to be cleaned up, the plant dismantled and all asbestos removed. This removal process was developed by consulting engineers, Candec Consultants Ltd., hired by Yellow Moon, the developer and was reviewed by various government agencies including the MOE. The City of Toronto hired a peer reviewer who also commented on the process. A project team was assembled including the MOE, the Ministry of Labour (MOL), Candec, City of Toronto Building Division, Toronto Public Health, the Peer Reviewer, Councillor Ron Moeser and representatives of the three communities surrounding and located on the Manson Site. According to Candec, all asbestos has now been removed and the site can be certified for future development.

Centennial Park

Centennial Park consists of a grassy area with a children's playground, located next to the sports fields at Centennial Road Junior Public School at 225 Centennial Road, Scarborough. This should not be confused with the major recreational facility located in the former city of Etobicoke.

See also

• List of neighbourhoods in Toronto

References

• http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/profiles_map_and_index.htm
• The Nancy-Griffon Foundations project to build a new HMS NANCY