'I’m disgusted by it': Trash problem plagues Richmond Hill’s Lake Wilcox Park

'This is not just a public park, but rather our backyard'

Yorkregion.com
July 20, 2020
Sheila Wang

A number of residents are raising concerns about the growing littering issue at one of Richmond Hill’s most popular parks and its surrounding neighbourhood.

Several area residents told The Liberal the Lake Wilcox Park area has seen increasing amount of garbage left behind by visitors over the past months as the summer weather drew more people to enjoy the outdoors.

Water bottles, beer cans, crumpled tissues, and food wrappers have become a common sight at the park, on the trails and even in the nearby residential area, as pictures posted on social media and obtained by The Liberal showed.

“I’m disgusted by it. It’s so avoidable. It’s so disrespectful!” Paul Shearstone, a resident living on Sandbanks Drive, said.

It has been Shearstone’s morning routine to take his coffee and have a walk through the neighbourhood to the youth area of the park, located just across Bayview Park Lane.

But his daily walks have turned into a painful experience recently as Shearstone said he often found an abundance of trash strewn along the residential street and at the parkette in the morning.

Resident Paul Shearstone filmed the garbage left behind by visitors at Lake Wilcox in the morning of July 16, 2020.

Worst of all, human feces were seen on the grass at a cul-de-sac in the neighbourhood more than once over the past month, resident Chris Kemp said.

The resident said he was “shocked” to see the mess but noted it might have something to do with the removal of portable toilets from the park due to COVID-19.

The pandemic seemed to have also given rise to more visitors to the park since community centres and gyms have been closed, Kemp said. And, more and more people appeared to have opted to park on their residential street rather than the parking lot.

Acknowledging “a marked increase” in garbage at Lake Wilcox during COVID-19, Oak Ridges Councillor Greg Beros said the city has taken steps to address the issue, such as increasing patrol presence, quick cleanup, and adding garbage bins.

“The city and the councillor have been listening and they’re trying to manage it,” resident Jay Vanmali said, who saw slightly less garbage over the past weeks.

The city has been monitoring Lake Wilcox Park seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and bylaw enforcement officers have been on site to monitor surrounding streets, according to city spokesperson Lynn Chan.

But they were nowhere near a solution, Shearstone said, pointing out paid parking that is about to kick in at Lake Wilcox would “make it worse” for at least 50 families on Sandbanks Drive.

The city is expected to implement paid parking for non-residents within the four parking lots at Wilcox starting the week of July 20, charging $4 to $5 per hour for parking in the designated areas.

The city says residents are able to register for their free permits beginning July 17 at parking.richmondHill.ca.

Applauded by many as a way to ease traffic and parking issues at the park, Shearstone said paid parking may bring more visitors to park in his neighbourhood in order to avoid parking fees.

Kemp said parking on Sandbanks Drive may be restricted to area residents only on weekends and holidays, referring to a city-issued parking permit that he received from the city.

“But it’s busy every night here,” Kemp said, noting “no parking any time” would help address the trash and parking problem in the area.

The city has yet to finalize parking restrictions on the residential streets in the Lake Wilcox area, the spokesperson wrote in an email on July 17.

Resident Paul Shearstone filmed garbage left behind by visitors at Lake Wilcox at 7:30 a.m. on July 16.

Residents may reach out to Access Richmond Hill at 905-771-8800 or access@richmondhill.ca for garbage removal in parks and city staff will inspect the area before addressing any cleanup or maintenance if required, the spokesperson said.

Vanmali who was tired of waiting around said he has made a habit of picking up garbage on the residential street on his own.

Some residents have also taken upon themselves to put on homemade signs to implore the trail-goers, picnickers, and park-users to clean up after themselves.

“To the people who keep throwing their garbage along the trails, a simple message: Please respect the community!” one sign reads.

Pura Vida, who posted photos of the signs on social media, said she wondered if the signs could be a “more effective” way to remind visitors that “this is not just a public park, but rather our backyard.”