Weekend road closures in High Park have had 'positive impact,' majority say in city survey

Barring vehicles from High Park on weekends has made going there a better experience, say 75 per cent of people who responded to a City of Toronto survey on the issue.

The city is studying how travel to, from and within High Park can be improved. The online survey results, recently released, are part of a first round of public consultation on what it calls its High Park Movement Strategy.

"The idea of the strategy is really to gather public feedback, understand the way that people use the travel network within the park and really to look at how we can improve safety, reduce traffic speed, support a number of different uses of the park and really make the best decisions around vehicle access, around pedestrian safety," said Jane Arbour, manager of stakeholder relations and issues management for the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department.

The city says it asked people about travel on existing roads, driveways, parking lots and paved pathways, with the aim of improving travel within the park. The focus was on safety and accessibility while ensuring the park's ecological integrity remains a priority, city staff say.

A total of 6,717 people responded to the survey, which was conducted from June 30, 2021 to Oct. 12, 2021.

Arbour said the online survey serves as a "jumping off point" for the city to develop a plan for the park.

"What we really want to do is hear feedback from everyone who uses the park as well as from people who live in the neighbourhood."

City wants to 'get it right,' official says

High Park has long been a prime destination in the city that has off leash trails, wooded areas, sports fields, a splash pad and an outdoor pool, and picnic areas at Grenadier Pond, Arbour said. 

"Because High Park is so special to Torontonians and because it is such a heavily used park and such a well-loved park, we do want to get it right."

The city has just launched the next phase of the public consultation, asking residents to look at four draft strategies that range from no vehicles in the park to no restrictions, she added.

The next phase also involves a new online survey on the city's website. There will be pop-up consultations in the park itself and through a virtual open house later this month. That survey will wrap up in mid-August.

The feedback will help shape a strategy that will go to city council likely in early 2023.

'Real work is in the fine details,' councillor says

Coun. Gord Perks, who represents Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park, said there are lot of conflicts in the park among drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, trail users and others.

"It's a matter of designing a park so that people can all use it in a more harmonious way," he said.

"We're trying to work out how you provide the services you have to provide with the least reliance possible on automobiles. The weekend closures have been very popular, but there's been a concern about whether people with mobility limitations can access everything in the park," he said.

Perks said the TTC offers bus and Wheel-Trans service to locations within the park on weekends when it is closed to car traffic and the city will look at how that service is working. It will also look at whether some areas of the park will have vehicle access.

"We have to be mindful there's services like the restaurant in there that need deliveries ... The real work is in the fine details where we solve problems instead of just arguing about them," he said.

The survey found:

• Seventy-five per cent of respondents agreed the weekend road closures had a positive impact on their experience visiting the park. 
• Fifty-nine per cent said the weekend road closures have not impacted them. For those who did report an impact, 33 per cent noted the closures have increased street parking and 25 per cent said it increased traffic in the neighbourhoods around the park.
• When asked about priorities for the High Park Movement Strategy, 77 per cent placed a high priority on enhancing and conserving the park's ecological integrity and 60 per cent placed a high priority on reducing the impact of vehicular traffic.
• Fifty-four per cent said they visited the park once a week or more before the pandemic. Fifty-four per cent said they visited the park more frequently during the pandemic.
• The most popular times for visiting the park prior to COVID-19 were weekend afternoons and weekend mornings. Most respondents did not report a change in this preference during the pandemic.
• When asked about their destinations in the park before COVID-19, 66 per cent of respondents said they most often visited to park to enjoy nature such as looking at the gardens and bird watching, while 63 per cent of respondents said they go for the trails and hiking.