Toronto again ranks among one of the most livable cities

Incidentally, The Economist Intelligence Unit had also listed Toronto among its 2015 Safe Cities Index earlier this year, according to media sources.

However, Toronto, which had ranked number one in the 2015 Metroplis list, slipped to ninth position in 2016.

The final top 10 cities on the Metropolis list were  Copenhagen, Berlin, Helsinki, Singapore, Vienna, Tokyo, Oslo, Melbourne, Toronto, Portland.

According to Metropolis, the upcoming Under Gardiner Park, new LRT lines, bike lanes, and plans to create more pedestrian-friendly streetscape were the key aspects that helped Toronto make the cut.

A huge 1.75 kilometre public space planned beneath the West Gardiner, is expected to be ready by July 2017, according to media reports.

The Gardiner Expressway had been a barrier between downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario for decades.

The plan to create this massive 10-acre space under the highway would bring people together from one of the fastest growing parts of the city of Toronto, local media reported.

According to media reports, Mayor John Tory said that the $25 million dollar project, Under Gardiner, has been designed by Ken Greenberg, an urban designer, the former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto and the Public Work firm, and will be privately funded by Judy and Will Matthews.

According to the mandate of the Public Works firm, every project, public or private, undertaken by it would be to improve the quality and experience of public life in the city, reports added.

The space would not be just a park or a trail, added Adam Nicklin, a partner at the landscape architecture firm Public Work and one of the lead designers. Nicklin added that the space would serve as a platform for all that is exciting about Toronto, reported the media.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

Image: Tourism Toronto website