High Park is an unique public multi-use destination; surrounded by established neighbourhoods; part of an extended system of local, provincial and national lands; with Areas of Natural Scientific Interest; in the middle of a growing urban region. It was given to the people of Toronto by Jemima and John Howard for our “free use”. And it is older than Algonquin, Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Parc du Mont-Royal andStanley Park. But not as old as the many nations of Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties.

The High Park Movement Strategy (HPMS) is a public policy failure that provides no solution, or warrant for its many users, and has become a source of concern for the City’s public service. The HPMS consultation was flawed by badly laid out objectives, lack of public input, a poorly sourced consultant, flawed research, political interference and a pandemic. It is not a management plan for High Park. In fact, the City of Toronto – unlike Ontario and Canada – has no park management planning system.

The work of High Park Access for All has established that:

1. Toronto councillors and the public were not provided reports and studies prepared by and for and submitted to the HPMS team

2. The HPMS team did not complete an AODA plan, a public safety analysis, a recreation assessment plan, investigate improved public transit or shuttle service, follow the adopted 2019 parkland provision methodology, have the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee review and provide comments on the plan as they said they would, or seek input from other City of Toronto divisions

3. Incomplete and misleading information was released by the HPMS team, including the number of people consulted between 2021 and 2023, park visitor data, historical park permit use, the number of collisions within High Park, and the required financial impact analysis

4. Information was not shared by the HPMS team with its own consultant and other City division including historical park permit use, previous traffic and parking studies, and the work the Parks division performed when vehicle closures were first proposed in 1981. The HPMS team’s own consultant was prevented from discussing its work with the TTC, the High Park Nature Centre, and other organizations that have called High Park home for many years

5. The City of Toronto has breached the Howard family deed and trust

6. Political interference directly affected public consultations, and therefore the votes of the Infrastructure and Environment committee, and City of Toronto Council.

We call upon the City of Toronto to start over. Toronto park management planning is done on a piecemeal basis, and High Park and its users are victims of a failed process. A real consultation is required that ought to employ elements (i.e. transparency) of the Ontario Parks and Parks Canada models. Most of all, we must recall the multifaceted history of High Park, and that it is an urban park. And urban parks fulfil vital roles in culture, recreation, community development, heritage, economic development, health and wellness, natural environment maintenance, education and yes also movement (aka transportation).

We also recommend that the consultation process be undertaken under the auspices of a broad-based representative body – not the Parks division. In the past, High Park has had a board of trustees, a community advisory council, a “High Park Initiatives” group that have each during their existence offered valuable input from different perspectives. While acknowledging that times have changed, the consultation process should now be broadened to include youth sports leagues, boards of education, women’s groups, neighbourhood organisations – in addition to the groups that participated in the last stakeholder meetings conducted by the HPMS team. And in the meantime, while an open and transparent consultation occurs, the City should accept the original recommendation of the HPMS, and its consultant, that vehicles be allowed in High Park on Mondays through Saturdays, and parking spaces be restored.

High Park is a unique public destination in Toronto, and region. We are badly in need of an agreed upon set of facts, or else how can we have confidence in the work of public institutions? High Park is in danger of becoming a stranded public asset, when no area schools have full playing fields, those who suffer mobility challenges lack options, densification creates new demands, and those living in multi-residential homes who have no back yards, the city needs to provide year-round access to public facilities.

Join us in making High Park an accessible, affordable, safe and enjoyable destination for all.