Welcome to our new Executive Director
April 2024
The Laneway Project is thrilled to announce Danielle Goldfinger as our new Executive Director. With a wealth of experience in the not-for-profit sector, including fundraising, business development, festivals, and events, Danielle is poised to lead our organization into an exciting new chapter. Her most notable work includes managing Visitor Experience and Public Programming at Evergreen Brick Works, where she played a pivotal role in creating vibrant community spaces. Eager to build on Michelle Senaya’s legacy of greening, animating and connecting Toronto's laneways, Danielle is committed to fostering a stronger sense of community and connection throughout the city.
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Left to right: Yvonne Bambrick (Board Member), Danielle Goldfinger, James Meers (Board Member), Arianne Robinson (Board Member), Susan Barnes (Board Member).
Thank You to TD
TD Ready Commitment Projects Across Toronto June 2022 to Oct 2023
Our community projects are complete and we want to take some time to thank TD and the 'TD Ready Commitment Project' grant that allowed us the ability to fund multiple laneway projects including Cosmos Nature Lane, Main and Danforth and Regal Heights and also for providing trees in additional Laneway neighbourhoods across Toronto.
Highlighted are the epic artists who created stunning mural projects: https://www.thelanewayproject.ca/laneway-murals
Also a huge thank you to Trees for Life for providing us with trees and Saskia Vegter for helping us organize planting in multiple neighborhoods.
You can see some of the new tree stewards here: https://www.thelanewayproject.ca/greening-laneways
In our efforts to engage with the populations directly impacted by the TD Ready Commitment-funded program, we prioritized soliciting input and ongoing feedback from the community. Recognizing the significance of environmental considerations in the lives of Toronto residents, our initiative aimed to be a catalyst for positive change. By actively involving participants in tree planting activities and fostering open discussions, we gained valuable insights into their perspectives on the environment's role in enhancing their quality of life within the city.
Trees and large plants also store carbon dioxide in their fibers helping to clean the air and reduce the negative effects that this CO2 could have had on our environment. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, in one year a mature tree will absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen in exchange. Our greening within these neighbourhoods will account for removing 960 lbs of CO2 per year when all of our trees are mature. It's a start and direction that will continue to pay dividends in the future
The TD Ready Commitment Project helped The Laneway Project make a remarkable and lasting difference in all of our projects. Thank you so much.
TLP Team
The Laneway Project spotlighted
Porter Airlines’ Re:Porter publication May/June 2023
“Lockdowns also led some people to rethink their back-alley spaces. “The pandemic opened the door to the fact that these laneways are urban parks,” says Lanrick Bennett Jr., executive director of the Laneway Project, a non-profit that undertakes laneway improvements. “They’re corridors where parents can let their kids out the back and feel safe that they are close to home.” Read more.
Everyone Lives Somewhere: Curator-Led Talk with Lanrick Bennett
Part of the Myseum of Toronto Ten of Toronto Exhibition | 2023 collection
In Ten of Toronto, we reflect on our shared histories by looking at the forces that have shaped the city’s neighbourhoods: geography, economy, immigration, finance, urban development, culture, inequality, and social values. Read more.
A “Yes, And…!” Approach to Developing Community – Lanrick Bennett Jr.
ThrivePEC Community Symposium March 25, 2023
It was a chance for community members to gather for a day of building connections and exploring new approaches for developing our community. We’re sharing images, knowledge assets and resources to support community actors and build capacity for collective action.
"Public Art and its Potential: Reclaiming Underutilized Spaces for People", hosted by Lanrick Bennett Jr.
Canada Healthy Communities initiative March 16, 2023
Together with Lanrick, we will hear from practitioners across the country about their experience in facilitating arts-based initiatives - the benefits, the challenges, and the important takeaways.
La renaissance des ruelles de Toronto
Radio-Canada January 6, 2023
Le directeur du Laneway Project, Lanrick Bennett fils, estime que les ruelles vivent une renaissance après avoir été délaissées avec l'envahissement des rues par les voitures, au cours du dernier siècle.
Mais il rappelle qu'il y a des décennies, ces voies de passage faisaient partie du quotidien des gens dans certains quartiers. On y transportait du matériel ou des meubles; des voisins s'y rassemblaient pour un repas ou des activités. Read more.
What Toronto Can Learn from Montreal’s Green Laneways
Torontoist August 8, 2017
More than 69 kilometers of laneways have been transformed by benches, bike parking and flower beds. If connected, they would be almost as long as the Montreal Metro. Read more.
Network of Toronto laneways could help bridge gaps in cycling infrastructure, advocates say
Toronto Star and Metro News July 20, 2017
Toronto’s laneways have been getting a lot of attention for their housing potential. But now urban planners are eyeing them for a different purpose. A group of planners and cycling advocates believe Toronto’s network of 2,400 laneways could help bridge the gaps in the city’s cycling infrastructure. Read more.
Hot Summer Guide: Laneway Crawl Series
Now Toronto May 13, 2017
In 2016, the Laneway Project launched a summer Laneway Crawl series that transformed different alleyways in Toronto neighbourhoods into lively community spaces over weekends. They're returning with even more laneway crawls scheduled, the first of which takes place June 24 in Seaton Village's Karma Lane. Read more.
Toronto getting a series of laneway crawls this summer
blogto.ca Amy Gref June 1, 2016
With more than 250 kilometres worth of laneways and alleys in Toronto, The Laneway Project is working to reanimate these oft-unused spaces. That's why it's hosting a Laneway Crawl series this summer. Read more.
Homes are springing up in laneways
thestar.ca Carola Vyhnak March 5, 2016
Excerpt: "The philosophy meshes with The Laneway Project’s mandate to beautify and bring laneways back to life. The team of urban planners and designers is working with residents, businesses and municipal partners on various projects that could involve landscaping, artwork and recreational space."
York community comes together to envision the future of Reggae Lane
InsideToronto.com York Guardian Dominik Kurek
June 2, 2015
Excerpt: "The Laneway Project hosted a Reggae Lane Visioning Charette at the Maria A. Shchuka Library Wednesday, May 27, evening asking members of the community to present their ideas for what they would like to see in the laneway.
Among the residents who came out was Toronto musician Jay Douglas, a Jamaican immigrant who grew up in the Oakwood area, and who has just released his latest single Reggae Lane. He wrote the song after Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Josh Colle, who pushed for the naming of the lane, had asked the musician to help commemorate the naming of the lane." + Read More
Toronto striving for green spaces in a growing city.
Toronto Star Lauren Pelley
April 12, 2015
Excerpt:"Michelle Senayah, co-founder of laneway revitalization effort The Laneway Project, says with around 100,000 people coming to Toronto every year, most people don’t have access to their own outdoor space. It’s hard to acquire new land for parks and squares, but we have a massive untapped resource in the city,” she says, referring to the city’s laneways, which total more than 250 acres of space, and have potential to be beautified and used as places for kids to play and residents to gather." + Read More
How one small idea could bring new life to Toronto’s back alleys
Globe & Mail Marcus Gee
March 20, 2015
Excerpt:"Its organizers have set out to change the city’s relationship to its back lanes. That relationship has always been distant. Most people don’t think much about the lanes out behind their garages or alongside their apartment buildings. As a result, back lanes usually have a neglected, shabby look that can discourage people from using them as anything but means of entry and exit."
Laneways as shared spaces
Spacing Dylan Reid
November 25, 2014
Excerpt:"While we often focus on street art and cool little houses when we talk about laneways, thinking of them as shared streets reminds us of their core purpose, which is transportation and circulation."
5 ways Toronto could improve its laneway spaces
BlogTO Chris Bateman
November 27, 2014
Excerpt:"There are 250 kilometres of laneways in Toronto and almost all of them are underused, according to a non-profit that's trying to tap the potential of the city's back streets. Rather than using alleys for garbage collection and car storage, laneways could be transformed into bicycle thoroughfares, gathering places, markets, miniature strips of bars and cafes, even residential neighbourhoods with just a few tweaks of the rules, they say."
The Toronto Laneway Image featured on this page is courtesy of Brendan Rice a University of Toronto Student (Environmental & Urban Studies) who snapped this on his way home. @brendanric3