Reggae Lane

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Reggae Lane is a roadway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that runs east from Oakwood Avenue, behind a strip of buildings on the south side of Eglinton Avenue in the Little Jamaica ethnic enclave. [1] [2] [3] [4] For most of its history it had no official name, but the imminent arrival of Oakwood LRT station helped trigger its 2015 official naming.

The neighbourhood near Reggae Lane was recognized as a centre for reggae recording as early as the late 1960s. [5]

Toronto Transit Commission chair Josh Colle, the councillor for that part of the city, played a prominent role in the lane's renaming, and in the allocation of funds for clean-up and redevelopment. [1] [2] [3] He asserted that the neighbourhood around the Laneway is the largest centre for the recording of reggae music, outside of Jamaica. [6]

On September 19, 2015, Colle introduced a 1,200-square-foot (110 m2) mural of Bob Marley, Haile Selassie, and the Lion of Judah, by Adrian Hayles. [6] [7] [8] The Jamaica Gleaner described it as an instance of a foreign country showing respect for the genre of reggae music. Jay Douglas, and other reggae artists, performed a concert to celebrate the completion of the mural. [4] Douglas had composed a new song, named Reggae Lane, which he performed at the concert.

On July 21, 2015, the City of Toronto government announced that Reggae Lane would be one of the first four local songs that would be played for callers to 311, while they waited for help. [9] The song describes the history and ambience of the neighbourhood, in reggae style. [10]

With encouragement from The Laneway Project, the City of Toronto intends to name all its unnamed laneways. [11] [12] Reggae Lane has been cited as a successful example of the value of this renaming program.

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References

  1. 1 2 Ryan Ayukawa (April 18, 2015). "Toronto laneway to become reggae hot spot (once again)". Blog TO . Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Dominik Kurek (March 17, 2015). "Reggae Lane selected for improvement project". Inside Toronto . Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Dominik Kurek (June 2, 2015). "York community comes together to envision future of Reggae Lane". Inside Toronto . Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Amy Grief (September 21, 2015). "Reggae Lane mural unveiled in Toronto". Blog TO . Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. ↑ Benjamin Boles (October 21, 2014). "10 quirky things to know about the Toronto music scene". Blog TO . Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Dan Taekema (September 19, 2015). "Side street revitalization honours Toronto's role in reggae". Toronto Star . Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Canada Recognizes Reggae Music With Huge Mural". Jamaica Gleaner . September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ Mawga K (September 15, 2015). "Honoring Canada's Reggae Pioneer's via Reggae Lane". Montreal Dance Hall . Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Dial 311 for local Toronto hold music". Metro International . July 21, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Reggae Lane" (mp3). SoundCloud . Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Toronto's laneways to take centre stage in 2016". Metro International . January 4, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ "REGGAE LANE - THE LANEWAY PROJECT". yorkbia.ca. York Business Improvement Area. March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
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