Don Mills Residents Inc.

Have you recently taken a good look at the Macklin Hancock Parkette at the corner of Don Mills and Lawrence? Have you seen how tired the parkette sign looks?

The corner of Don Mills and Lawrence is a busy one, and many residents rush past the intersection without taking any notice of the park located on the northeast corner. This city park is dedicated to Macklin Hancock (1925-2010), the architect who designed Don Mills as a self-contained community, incorporating the concept of a garden city, surrounded by green, connected by footpaths, and including an economic centre within easy walking distance.  

However, today, the park is uninviting due to the large amount of concrete, the lack of adequate seating, limited flora, the lack of barriers to high-speed traffic, and a decaying sign. The heritage plaque’s presence is lost to most visitors as it faces the wrong direction to be noticed. And the park’s layout, with a wall intersecting grass and concrete, is confusing. Most residents would not view this park as a place to relax or an asset to the community.  

So, DMRI is working right now, with the aid of residents, the City, and the family of Macklin Hancock, to regenerate the park to make it more inviting, as well as representative of Don Mills and the architect who envisioned our community. We hope that a regenerated Macklin Hancock Park will make the Don Mills/Lawrence intersection more pedestrian-friendly, which was one of the cornerstone architectural concepts of the Don Mills community’s design. 

Here is a link to some photos of the park

Macklin Hancock Parkette

1. Quinn,

VP - Community Facilities & Services 

[email protected]