The Toronto Islands are bracing for another flood.
This time itll be waves of visitors arriving at the citys lake oasis, bringing the sweet waft of sunscreen and the laughter of summer fun.
Toronto Island Park opens again Monday. Flooding had shuttered the islands since mid-May it was so bad, carp were swimming over one submerged baseball diamond but our island in the sun is open for business once again.
Im expecting a bit of a crazy day on Monday, says longtime Algonquin Island resident Linda Rosenbaum. I think weve all been quite amazed at what a major event the closing of the island has been for Torontonians and how people are looking forward to coming back.
The ferries will begin chugging from the mainland at 6:30 a.m., the first off to Wards Island. At 8 a.m., escapees from the citys summers heat can begin returning to Centre Island. Ferries have been running to Wards a largely residential island during the clean up but with limited access.
Its taken a monumental effort to get the park ready again. The city used 27 pumps, including nine industrial-sized units, 24 hours a day to remove surface pooling. There are pumps still in operation on the islands. They also moved earth, used more than 45,000 sand bags many of which are still visible and dumped gravel in some areas in a race to get the park open by Mondays self-imposed deadline.
At peak flooding, water covered more than 40 per cent of the islands surface as Lake Ontario recorded its highest water level in decades. Even now, the beaches appear as if much of the sand has been removed for the bags used to stem the push of lapping waves.
The beach on Wards Island, for example, is about a quarter of what it once was.
Better get there early if you want a spot, said Susan Roy, another longtime resident.
Crews continued to work Sunday, raking landfill into wet spots along the roadway between Wards and Centre Islands.
Were trying our best, said one worker. Were trying to stay half a step ahead; theres a lot to do still but its a huge difference already. We want the park to be beautiful. Thats why people come here.
Centreville Amusement Park will open at noon Monday but spokesperson Shawnda Walker said there will be no fanfare to mark the occasion.
People want to just get on those rides so were just going to open the grounds, get those rides going and, hopefully, therell be great crowds, she said.
While Centreville management has no idea how many people to expect, Walker senses a pent-up demand based on the volume of emails from the public sometimes as many as 50 in a day asking when the theme park would reopen.
Were going to be prepared for a busy day, she said.
Not all the rides will be operational. Some of the track for the train remains underwater and will need to be replaced. It wont run this summer. The docks for the swan ride and bumper boats are also submerged making boarding unsafe. Walker said there is still hope those rides will open before the summer is over. And the barns and pens at Far Enough Farm, a petting zoo, remain sodden so the animals are staying at farm in Schomberg.
The shutdown has been understandably hard on island businesses. The Star earlier reported that Centreville has lost more than $6 million in revenue and ownership sold its iconic carousel for $3 million to offset some of that money. The 110-year carousel will be in operation for the remainder of the season.
Brandon Sherman of The Otter Guy water taxi service says boat operators have been hemorrhaging carrying about 10 to 20 cent of the passengers that normally ride to the islands.
We have no idea what to expect (Monday) but were all hoping for good things, he said.
The flooding also prompted the owners of The Rectory Caf, on Wards Island, not to continue their lease beyond this year. After a 14-year run, they are helping to identify a new ownership group to take over the restaurant.
That the park is open now wont be make up for lost revenue says Ken McAuliffe, one of the owners
There is a lot of built up demand to return to the islands, he wrote in an email, but unfortunately it will not be sufficient to counteract the loss of business over the last two and a half months for most of the Toronto Island businesses.
This summer, Rosenbaum and Roy started a business together Walk Wards Island taking visitors for guided tours. Rosenbaum concedes the timing might not have been the best.
But beyond the impact on her new endeavour, shes just excited visitors are about to return to the islands in big numbers.
It has been like a ghost town, she says. In some ways, its been quiet and peaceful and theres never any lineups and we dont have to jostle through crowds just trying to get home. But we miss people.
I was down at Centre (Island) where the formal gardens are and the Parks department has been pruning the gardens and the flower beds are absolutely beautiful. But its bizarre because theres not one person looking at them. Its so strange.
Its so beautiful and theres so much to see, its a shame people couldnt come but it really was flooded. It was bad and it was dangerous. You wouldnt be able to keep people safe. Now people will be safe.
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Toronto Island Park opens its shores and doors after flooding - Toronto Star