The idea of building more islands in Lake Ontario is still kicking around

Dirt: when you dig it up, it has to go somewhere. Aware of this inescapable truth, the city is still considering taking the 1.8 million cubic metres of dirt that the Eglinton Crosstown excavation will displace and making a bunch of man-made islands. (An added bonus: the islands, which would likely cost $54 million to $84 million to build, would act as a barrier to the polluted water that flows from the Humber River into Lake Ontario, improving the water quality at Sunnyside Beach). An environmental assessment is underway, which should determine whether critics’ worries about contaminated soil are founded. The idea doesn’t have any strong champions on council yet—Sarah Doucette, for instance, worried about the disruptions dump trucks would bring to the south end, noting, “That’s a lot of trucks.” It’s also a lot of dirt. [Toronto Star]