Boom time for Toronto parks was years in the making

Several green spaces, both new and renovated, have opened in the past month and proven popular so far.

Thestar.com
July 11, 2017
By David Hains

Toronto parks are having their moment in the sun.

 

Several parks, both new and renovated, have opened in the past month and proven popular so far.

 

• Berczy Park near the St. Lawrence Market has seen people flock to take selfies with its whimsical dog fountain.
  
• Guild Park in Scarborough received a restoration that has earned admiration from local heritage enthusiasts.
  
• Grange Park, south of the AGO, which playfully pays homage to its artistic surroundings, opened last weekend.
  
• And the provincially owned Trillium Park on the former Ontario Place site offers another revitalized and expansive green space.
  

“What we’re seeing is the culmination of many years of hard work,” says Janie Romoff, general manager of Toronto’s parks department, about the park boom.

 

Each of the parks was years in the making through the community consultation and design stage. Some also benefited from the use of section 37 money, in which developers pay for local benefits in exchange for additional density.

 

Romoff was quick to credit the respective communities with their work to help improve plans.

 

“You need to provide for and allow the right amount of time for dialogue and consensus,” she said, adding listening to local residents results in better parks that reflect the needs of changing neighbourhoods.

 

These parks have also increasingly benefited from community groups such as Friends of Berczy Park, said Dave Harvey, executive director of the local non-profit group Park People. He said the group plays an important role looking out for the site’s interest long after the ribbon cutting.

 

“It’s not just about great park design, but community ownership too,” he said.

 

Romoff adds another positive is that the popular new parks have “raised the bar” and “set a new standard.”

 

“When you open up parks like Berczy and the Grange, what you hear from people in other parts of the city is ‘how do I get one like that?’ ” she says.

 

For Harvey, this is a big shift. He says Torontonians used to give reasons why they couldn’t have nice things like Berczy or Grange Park, but now it’s more about figuring out a way to make ambitious projects such as the Bentway and the proposed Raildeck Park happen.

 

“It’s a great attitude change.”