A new trail, connections and cultural spaces will be created in unused space under a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway.

There’ll be walking and cycling paths along with spaces for markets and cultural performances from just west of Strachan Avenue to Spadina Avenue.

The first phase is to be completed by 2017 in time for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

The $25-million to do all this comes from Zoomer philanthropists Wil and Judy Matthews.

She’s the great-granddaughter of E. J. Lennox, the architect who designed Old City Hall, Casa Loma and the King Edward Hotel.

Matthews and her husband, an investment banker, have long been major donors.

There’s a Chinese sculpture court named after the couple at the R-O-M, an educational centre at the Royal Conservatory of Music that bears their name and they were also founding donors of the Luminato Festival.