Taylor-Massey Creek
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Taylor-Massey Creek is a tributary of the
Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
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. It flows through
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
and
East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
, where it enters the Don River. Taylor-Massey Creek has also been called ''Silver Creek'' and ''Scarboro Creek''. The creek is named after two prominent Toronto families. The
Taylors Taylors is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 21,617 at the 2010 census. Taylors is the Greenville/Spartanburg area's largest suburb although it is not incorporated as a city. ...
were a wealthy family that owned and operated the
Don Valley Brick Works The Don Valley Brick Works (often referred to as the Evergreen Brick Works) is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided ...
. The
Massey family The Massey family is a Canadian Methodist family that has been prominent since the mid-19th century, known for manufacturing farm equipment and for being patrons of the arts in Canada. Their company, Massey Ferguson, built the family its fortu ...
owned the Massey-Harris farm equipment manufacturing company. Both families had sizable estates in the vicinity of the creek. The Massey Goulding Estate, a historic property at 305
Dawes Road The following lists roads in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that do not follow the city grid, often referred to as ''contour roads or diagonal roads''. They are listed by type of road, then alphabetically. Arterial roads Albion Road Albion Road ...
, was originally part of the Massey estate and is now used as the Children's Peace Theatre. The mansion was built in 1921 for Dr. Arthur Goulding and his wife, Dorothy Massey, daughter of Walter and Susan Massey.


Description

Taylor-Massey Creek is 16 kilometres long. Its
headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...
are near Sheppard and Victoria Park Avenues. It flowed diagonally through Wishing Well Park and under
Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provinc ...
at Pharmacy Avenue. The original headwaters were diverted to Highland Creek when the highway was widened to 12 lanes, so the creek now starts at a stormwater outfall just south of the highway. The creek starts in Terraview Willowfield Park, a restoration project, named after a nearby public school. It flows through two medium-sized ponds with naturalized channels. From there it flows southeast through a series of concrete lined channels and drains. This section runs along an abandoned hydro
right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
before entering a residential and industrial section that is closed to public access. South of
Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the western limits of Mississauga, as ...
East it enters a shallow ravine and flows south passing through Pine Hills Cemetery. It exits the cemetery travelling west and enters a small park on St. Clair Avenue East. At Warden Avenue it turns southwest, moving through a park called Warden Woods. West of Pharmacy Avenue it enters a city run golf course. At
Victoria Park Avenue Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park. History Vi ...
it enters Taylor Creek Park and continues uninterrupted to where it empties into the Don River East Branch, just north of the forks of the Don.


Problems

The Taylor-Massey Creek watershed exists entirely within an urban setting and has suffered severe degradation. The upper portion of the creek is encased almost entirely in concrete lined channels which increases the flow of the river and provides little habitat. Other sections are constrained by rock filled
gabion A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road buildin ...
baskets. The water is heavily polluted from storm water outfalls that empty directly into the creek. In June 2005, the city performed a water quality study that revealed the presence of high levels of E. coli bacteria and other contaminants. Periodic spills from adjacent industrial lands have also increased contamination. Due to the poor water quality and the engineered riverbanks, the creek shows little signs of life. Several places in the ravine were also once municipal landfills, although all of them have now been shut down.


Restoration efforts

In 1993, a citizens group called Friends of the Don East (FODE) began environmental restoration projects along the creek, as well as along local branches of the East and West Don rivers. FODE created The Taylor Massey Project, in 2003, which became a separate organization in November, 2004. In 2003, the City of Toronto implemented the ''Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan'' which calls for a reduction of storm water flow into Taylor-Massey Creek and also recommends a restoration plan that will improve habitat in the creek for fish and other water dwelling organisms. In September, 2006, The TMP recommended the establishment of a Taylor Massey Watershed Management Co-ordinator as the best means of implementing Wet Weather Flow in the watershed, which is a priority under this 25-year, $1B plan. The city has also pledged to locate illegal sewer hookups and redirect them into sanitary sewers.


See also

* List of rivers of Ontario


References

*


External links


Friends of the Don East

Taylor Massey Project
* 1878 Map of Scarborough
Table from outfall report, June 2005: contaminant levels

Table from outfall report, June 2005: locations of contaminated outfalls
{{Toronto Waterways Don River (Ontario) Rivers of Toronto