Rush park plans get green light

Rush frontman Geddy Lee says he and Alex Lifeson are "humbly honoured" after plans were approved to name a neighbourhood park after them.

North York Community Council in Toronto yesterday rubber-stamped the change of title from Willowdale Park to the Lee Lifeson Art Park, with the intention of acknowledging the musicians’ contributions to culture and the community where they grew up.

Early designs for the development include sculptural installations, a performance space and a small bandstand for acoustic concerts.

Lee tells the Toronto Star: “We met with the architects and were really impressed with the thought and plans they have for it.

“It’s where I met my best friend and bandmate. On tour and during our travels, we get to visit and enjoy so many parks around the world – so we really appreciate having that communal green space that is so important to a vibrant city.”

Work will begin early next year with the official opening planned for late 2015 or early 2016.

Rush, along with drummer Neil Peart, were honoured earlier this year with honorary degrees from Ontario’s Nipissing University, after being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.