Toronto Star

Take a full 360 degree look at Toronto's newest attraction. The Bentway Skate Trail goes under the Gardiner Expressway. The skating trail was made possible by a donation from Judy and Wilmott Matthews.

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Read an excerpt of Diana Zlomislic's article below:

Hundreds of skaters embraced Toronto’s deep freeze on Saturday, testing the city’s newest public space during its grand opening beneath the Gardiner.

“This is for residents who don’t have a front yard or a back yard in which to play,” philanthropist Judy Matthews told the crowd from a podium at the top of a 220-metre-long ice trail that winds around concrete pillars holding up the expressway.

A $25-million donation made three years ago by Matthews and her husband, Wilmot, an investment banker, has transformed this urban dead zone from Strachan Ave. to Bathurst St. into a lively stretch now called The Bentway, a reference to the concrete “bents” that carry the weight of the Gardiner overhead.

With the temperature around -20 C (not counting the wind chill), Matthews took shears to a red ribbon just after 11 a.m. to open the trail, which sits at the foot of Fort York and forms part of a larger, 1.1-kilometre-long park that will be unveiled in June.

A pair of well-scuffed, “half-century”-old figure skates were hanging from Matthews’ shoulder. “I used to fancy skate and play hockey, right wing. It was the last time I’d done anything right wing,” she said, with a smile.

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