Mural turns 401 barrier into park scene

Things could soon get a lot brighter around Bathurst and Wilson thanks to the expansion of a local mural.

Last year, a parkette on the southeast corner of the intersection underwent a huge makeover as part of the mayor’s Clean and Beautiful City initiative, but local councillor Mike Feldman took it a step further by raising money to create a mural directly behind it.

A small section of the grey concrete wall of Highway 401 facing the parkette was transformed into a beautiful park scene, so that from a distance, it looks like an extension of the green space. Now, the mural is going to be expanded to include three more sections of the wall so that it covers the majority of the parkette’s background.

"We’re going to follow the same basic theme of people in the park but I’m hoping it’s going to be more multicultural," said Feldman. "I’d like to see some orthodox Jews walking around in it and some people of colour so that it reflects the community."

Feldman joked the mural probably wouldn’t include some of the more colourful characters in the neighbourhood such as Charles, a homeless man who has been living across the street from the parkette for years.

Each section of the wall costs about $10,000 to create and so far, community retailers have been great at coming up with the cash, and donating materials and their time. Even local arts students and volunteers from Baycrest, a local senior’s home, have been recruited to help paint. Feldman said he doesn’t want to reveal who will be donating to the expansion just yet but that generous retailers would indeed be recognized with a plaque at the park.

After the mural is done, Feldman’s next order of business will be to install a string of lights above the mural to highlight the art project into the night.

"Now at night, it doesn’t look like much but (lights) are good on all counts — it’s especially good from a safety point of view," he said, adding the lights would likely be turned off by 11 p.m.

The project will begin as soon as the dampness of the wall dries up a bit to allow for painting. Feldman said he hopes to have the mural completed by July.