Experimental Farm Housing? … ‘Ridiculous’: THE VOTER

Bulldog contributor Howard Crerar’s suggestion to put housing on the Experimental Farm  has to be one of the most ridiculous suggestions I’ve heard in a long time. And I’ve heard some pretty nonsensical proposals in my day.

First, the longitudinal research that’s being carried out on the Experimental Farm can not just be dug up and plunked down somewhere else. It requires consistent conditions to be comparable to previous and future years’ results. Dirt is not “just dirt” – it varies greatly from place to place which is why certain crops flourish in particular locations and under particular conditions.

The future of our agricultural community and the economic contribution they make is dependent on the research done at this and other research farms across the country and around the world. This work is even more vitally important in times of climate change.

Second, the health of the city and its inhabitants depends on having relatively clean air to breathe. The open spaces of the farm are invaluable as the lungs of the city and as a provider of passive and active recreation opportunities for residents. We are already short of open space in the city, particularly in the downtown area. The primary source of that shortage? A proliferation of high-rise buildings. And you want to increase that concrete jungle with more high-rises and less open space?

Areas of open space and trees instead of asphalt help to cool the city which, as climate change increases, will be of incrementally more importance to people living and working in the city.

Third, we have ample land to provide all the development space we need for years to come. The city has carefully documented both the expected needs of the community and the lands available to meet those needs for decades into the future.

Let’s not pave paradise to put up either a parking lot or a cluster of high-rises that we don’t need and which will harm our city in the long run in ways you obviously haven’t contemplated. We don’t need a tree museum where they’ll charge all the people a dollar-and-a-half just to see ’em. We still have the real thing in the Experimental Farm – why not hang onto it for these very practical reasons as well as the emotional ones?

Oh, and if you ate today, thank a farmer – including those who work at the Experimental Farm.

The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.

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