MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
TELL DECISION MAKERS THAT YOU WANT A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS TO ONTARIO PLACE
Ontario Place is currently a free, open and accessible waterfront park that is used by more than a million people every year. It is also an internationally recognized architectural treasure. And yet this amazing asset is at risk RIGHT NOW.
The Province of Ontario plans to turn close to half of the parkland over to an Austrian spa franchise which will cut down over 800 trees and level the internationally recognized landscape to accommodate its enormous 13 storey (half the size of Rogers Centre) pay-to-play glass spa facility.
Unbelievably the Province has also committed the Ontario taxpayer to provide a huge subsidy, upwards of $650 million, to help out this commercial development, giving our public land away for 95 years.
The Ontario Science Centre (OSC) has been underfunded by the government for years.
And now its very existence is under threat.
The Government of Ontario plans to demolish the iconic, award-winning OSC to replace it with a 50% smaller building, located on top of a parking garage at Ontario Place. The OSC was an iconic gift to Ontarians to celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, and was one of the first interactive science museums in the world. Today, there are more than 3,000 science centres globally: many attribute their inspiration to OSC and purchase its innovative exhibits.
The government’s plan to downsize the OSC will squander this expertise and international reputation, and puts the livelihood of hundreds of Ontarians at risk.
The OSC building is an important part of Ontario’s cultural heritage. Built by the late Ontario architect, Raymond Moriyama, it is a thoughtful and innovative design intended specifically to host visitors in an engaging environment that encourages curiosity. The proposed demolition of the OSC has been strongly condemned by prominent architectural organizations, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
Importantly, the OSC was deliberately situated in Flemingdon Park-Don Mills, away from downtown Toronto, and accessible by highways. Well over 100,000 school children visit each year from around the province.
THE 2023 CANADIAN CITY PARKS REPORT
Surfacing Solutions
How addressing conflict and reframing challenges as opportunities can create more equitable and sustainable parks.
Park People Parks Platform 2023: Toronto Parks as Core Urban Infrastructure
Parks are not “nice to have,” they are critical social, health, and environmental infrastructure for Toronto. City parks are lifelines in extreme heat waves.
Social connectors in an age of increasing polarization. Keepers of biodiversity despite ever fragmenting urban landscapes.
To meet the biggest challenges we face in Toronto—climate change, biodiversity loss, social polarization, rising inequality—we need whole new ways to plan, design, manage, program, and govern parks.
This shift requires doing things differently. It requires ensuring proper funding, sharing decision-making power, addressing inequities head-on, and prioritizing action on truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
15%
increase in park visitation from 2020 to 2022 across Canada.
64%
of city residents said they visit parks 2-3 times per week or more, including 29% that visit every day or almost every day.
51%
of city residents said they'd like to spend more time in parks then they do currently.
Read the full 2023 Canadian City Parks Report online here or download the PDF summary here.
Find the specific Toronto city profile Parks Report for 2023 here.
SILVER CREEK PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Parks, Forestry & Recreation and Parks Development & Capital Projects Section staff have provided an update on the Silver Creek Park Improvement Project.
The timeline of the project has been delayed since the start of the Park Improvement Project process.
Construction was completed in 2023.
UPDATE ON THE APPLICATION FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF RICHVIEW SQUARE
Update June 23, 2021
We advocated for a community agency space, POPS and a City of Toronto Park – and we made it happen!
On Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at the Etobicoke York Community Council (EYCC) Meeting, as a result of our collective advocacy, our community came one step closer to a responsible re-development of Richview Square which includes city parkland.
This item now goes to Toronto City Council on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 and
will not be final until the meeting is complete and the City Clerk has
confirmed the decisions for this meeting. FofSC will share the final confirmation.
What Are These Community Benefits?
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A 5000 sq ft Community Agency Space
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POPS or Publicly Owned Private Spaces
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1700m2 City of Toronto Park
Since 2016, Friends of Silver Creek have worked diligently to ensure that this
development included social community benefit and greenspace. We are proud
that we were able to advocate for the Community Agency Space, POPS and
public parkland working together and in consultation with former Councillor
John Campbell, Create T.O., Trinity Development and City of Toronto Parks,
Forestry and Recreation staff.
You can view the motion, submissions and other details:
Check Out What's Happening In Our Community
PUBLIC WASHROOMS FOR ALL
In November 2020, Councillor Stephen Holyday voted NO to opening more park washrooms stating:
"What I don’t want is people hanging around
drinking beer out of a tailgate.”
COVID-19 has shown us that access to the outdoors is vital to a healthy body and mind and for seniors, individuals with special needs, children, prostate and kidney patients, those who suffer from crohn's and colitis, everyone and anyone - safe access to public washrooms is a basic human right - a dignity that should not be denied.
DID YOU KNOW
As a result of work at the Richview Pumping Station and Reservoir located in Richview Park, trees located on top of the reservoir and around the Pumping Station and Valve House will need to be removed:
• 387 trees are planned to be removed,
• 34 trees to be preserved (Tree Protection Zones)
• 18 trees will be monitored for minimal injury.
Only about 92 new trees and 385 shrubs will be replanted upon the completion of the Richview Pumping Station and Reservoir Rehabilitation project.
The value of 295 trees that will not be replanted on the reservoir will be another cash-in-lieu payment to the City of Toronto that may not be spent in our community.
There is the option to plant these trees in our neighbourhood! If you have any suggestions as to where these 295 trees could be planted, please contact Kate Kusiak and quote 19ECS-MI-02WA Public Consultation at richview@toronto.ca or 416-392-1932.
More info www.toronto.ca/richview
OUR STORY
THIS IS COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AT WORK.
DEAL FINALIZED TO SAVE SILVER CREEK SCHOOL
In May 2018, the Provincial Liberal Government finalized the agreement for the Province of Ontario to acquire Silver Creek Public School from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). This completes the acquisition by the province of Silver Creek School, saving autism supports and a therapeutic preschool program for children with special needs.
The transition to provincial ownership will ensure that Silver Creek Pre-School, The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and the families that rely on their services will not experience any disruptions.
This is a true example of community & government working together with dedication, hard work and persistence.
Thank you to Yvan Baker who made it a priority to help save Silver Creek School, the attached green space & Silver Creek Pre-School and The Etobicoke Children's Centre, protecting vital programs for children with special needs, mental health needs & autism.