Markham parkette battle reaches boiling point

Sean Tsao among residents who have signed petitions to relocate parkette citing privacy, security, safety and noise issues

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 30, 2019
Heidi Riedner

Residents who have been trying to get the Percy Reesor Parkette moved for the past two years are squaring off with the city after finding themselves back at square one.

“This is a total waste of time and money,” Sean Tsao said after the development services committee rejected Coun. Amanda Collucci’s motion to dismantle the park, voting instead to send letters to the roughly 200 property owners in the Wismer subdivision asking them what they want to do with it.

“They built the park without any notice to residents, they promised they would relocate it, and now we’re back at square one in the whole process,” said Tsao, whose Valliere Drive townhouse is among those that back onto the small play area.

“We want a park in the community, just not here.”

Tsao is among the residents who have signed petitions and voted at a community meeting in January to relocate the parkette closer to Major Mackenzie Drive, citing issues such as privacy, security, safety and noise.

“People drink there, smoke there and make noise at all hours,” said Shah Hossain. “It is impacting these people’s quality of life day in and day out. The parkette wasn’t part of the original plans, and now these people are stuck.”

Hossain’s biggest concern, however, is safety, especially after dark.

“If I see somebody in my backyard and he’s not supposed to be there I can call police. But in here, if someone is just hanging around, we have no reason to question until something happens, and by then it’s too late. And we’re talking about children here. Someone can get high and who knows what’s happening in their mind. We’re giving them a space to come in and sit here until they can strike, whether it is against a child or someone’s home.”

Residents who paid a $40,000 premium to the developer for walkout basements with a ravine view are angry that the city built the parkette without notice or gauging of public sentiment.

“We had no notice of what was going on and still don’t,” said Tsao. “We were told by city staff that pieces of paper were left for residents two days before construction of the park. However, we did not have any mailboxes attached to our house so no one received those notices and we were under the impression the city was working on the storm water management pond. No one knew it was for this parkette.”

City staff said the parkette was constructed in response to resident requests on the only available strip of land that wasn’t conservation land under the jurisdiction of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Mitigation options raised at the Sept. 9 meeting included putting in higher fences at the parkette’s current location or moving it to one of three possible sites.

Residents aren’t on board with 12-foot fences and say moving the parkette to the preferred location a few metres from its current one isn't "logical."

Councillors balked at relocating the parkette, considering it an expensive move that would set a “dangerous precedent.”

“If we do it here, we’ll have to do it elsewhere,” said Coun. Don Hamilton, adding he wasn't prepared to spend the estimated $300,000.

Instead, staff are drafting a letter that will be mailed to residents asking for their opinion on the parkette.

"We've already done this. We had a meeting in January with those people who cared enough about the park, one way or the other, to come out. To do this again is only going to frustrate people," said Coun. Collucci, adding delaying a decision keeps residents stuck in the dilemma.

“It’s almost like "Groundhog Day" where you wake up every day to the same problem again. We have to get moving and start solving this problem. They are going to get angry, and they have been so patient up to now.”

Flora Wang, who moved to the subdivision just before her two-year-old son was born, agrees the situation is frustrating, but welcomes further public input.

“I’m all for finding a different location if the parkette is bothering people here, but we still need a safe place for the children to play, and I don’t necessarily agree with moving it closer to a major road.”

She doesn’t support dismantling the parkette without a back-up plan in place, either.

“It’s quite precious to have this little parkette, in my opinion, and it could be a few years before another one is built. I don’t know if everyone who agreed to move the park understood they wouldn’t have one in the interim. I want the people who are actually using the park to have their voices heard, too.”

The issue will go back to the development services committee after public input is received.