The City is improving Runnymede Park. This project is being supported by the Partnership Opportunities Legacy program (POL) with a majority of the funding coming from Section 37 benefits from the development at 2306 St. Clair Ave. W.

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  • Fall 2022: Hire a design team
  • Winter 2022 to Fall 2023: Community engagement and design development
  • Fall 2023 to Winter 2023/2024: Detailed design
  • Summer 2024: Hire a construction team
  • Fall 2024: Phase 1 construction (asphalt pathways, sports courts renovations, new seating and wading pool renovation)
  • Spring to Early Summer 2025: Phase 2 construction (new playground and adjacent gathering area and pathways)

The timeline is subject to change.

Level of Engagement

This project has been classified as a Collaborate project based on the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum. This means we aim to partner with the public, stakeholders and rightsholders in each aspect of the design process, including the development of design options and the identification of a preferred design.

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This project has a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) made up of representatives living near Runnymede Park. The CAC’s mandate is to provide a forum for feedback, guidance and advice to the project team at key decision points during the community engagement process. The CAC will be engaged as required throughout the project’s life cycle to inform key updates to the designs for the park. The CAC is not a decision-making body and does not speak on behalf of the entire community. 

This phase of the community engagement process started in January 2023 and will include a survey to collect feedback on the draft design options, an online Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting, and an in-person site meeting and a public meeting.

Draft Designs

Nature Park Design

ite plan Option A, Nature Park, for Runnymede Park features numbered elements that correspond to a list of proposed park amenities located after the image. The plan shows the arrangement of these amenities and features around the arena, highlighting enhancements to recreational facilities and green spaces.

  1. New entrance at Riding Avenue
  2. Existing wading pool with new surface treatment, additional seating, and accessible paths
  3. Seating throughout
  4. Senior playground
  5. Junior playground
  6. Nature play area with armourstone seatwall
  7. Shade structure with small group tables
  8. Native planting buffer
  9. Re-surfaced tennis and volleyball courts
  10. Community pollinator garden
Nature Park Playground Option A

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image are a part of Playground Option A for the Nature Park design.

  1. Rock climbing wall
  2. Swings
  3. Monkey bars
  4. Senior play structure
  5. Junior play structure
  6. Climber
  7. Drums 
Nature Park Playground Option B

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image are a part of Playground Option B for the Nature Park design.

  1. Senior play structure
  2. Junior play structure
  3. Accessible teeter totter

Rail Park Design

Site plan option B, Rail Park, for Runnymede Park features numbered elements that correspond to a list of proposed park amenities located after the image. The plan shows the arrangement of these amenities and features around the arena, highlighting enhancements to recreational facilities and green spaces.

  1. New entrance at Ryding Avenue
  2. Existing wading pool with new surface treatment, additional seating, and accessible paths
  3. Seating throughout
  4. Senior and Junior playground
  5. Nature play area with armourstone seatwall
  6. Gathering area with shade structure and communal picnic tables
  7. Native planting buffer
  8. Re-surfaced tennis and volleyball courts
  9. Pollinator gardens
Rail Park Playground Option A

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image are a part of Playground Option A for the Rail Park design.

  1. Play panels
  2. Hammocks
  3. Swings
  4. Spinner
  5. Climbing wall
  6. Stepping stones
  7. Rope climbers
  8. Bridge
  9. Junior play tower
  10. Bridge
  11. Senior play tower
  12. Slide
  13. Net climber
  14. Spinner
Rail Park Playground Option B

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image are a part of Playground Option B for the Rail Park design.

  1. Swings with an accessible seat
  2. Four slides
  3. Senior play tower
  4. Play tunnel
  5. Monkey bars
  6. Rock climbing boulder

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image focuses on the Junior play set which is a part of Playground Option B for the Rail Park design.

  1. Net climber
  2. Fireman pole
  3. Tactile interaction play panel
  4. Junior play tower
  5. Slide

New playground equipment, each assigned a number that corresponds to the list of playground equipment names after this image. The equipment featured in this image focuses on the Train set and swings that are a part of Playground Option B for the Rail Park design.

  1. Play train
  2. Swings

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

June 2023

In-Person Public Meeting

On June 7, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m., a public meeting took place at David Appleton Community Centre for community members to share feedback on the draft designs for the park improvements.

Download the June 7, 2024 public meeting summary.

March 2023

Online Survey

From March 2 to March 17, 2023, feedback on the vision for the park was collected in an online survey. Community members could provide insights to help inform the draft designs and improvement options for the park. The survey received 350 responses from residents living within the immediate surrounding neighbourhood.

Download the March 2023 survey summary.

February 2023

Community Advisory Committee Meeting 2

On February 13, 2023, members of the project team and Community Advisory Committee (CAG) met at Runnymede Park for a site meeting. Additional ideas and feedback were collected.

Download the meeting summary for CAG meeting 1 and 2.

January 2023

Community Advisory Committee Meeting 1

On January 25, 2023, members of the project team and Community Advisory Committee met virtually. Early design options for the park were presented and feedback was collected. A meeting summary is available in the February 2023 section.

In this phase , the City shared the preferred design with the community and Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for feedback. The project then moved into the detailed design phase, where the design team will finalize the design by working through the technical details and drawings for the construction contractor.

Preferred Design

Alt text: A Preferred Plan for Runnymede Park showing the layout of features in the park, including new play and seating areas.

A Preferred Plan for Runnymede Park showing the layout of features in the park, including new play and seating areas, as well as improvements to the adjacent green field.

Areas in dashed red are included in phase 1 of the project, and all remaining features will be a part of phase 2.

  1. Resurfaced volleyball court
  2. Resurfaced tennis court with tennis court and pickleball court line painting
  3. New tennis court connection point with gate and bench
  4. Additional trees (budget dependent)
  5. Existing sand play to remain
  6. Proposed armour stone seat wall (budget dependent)
  7. New gathering area with small group tables on concrete
  8. New junior play area
  9. New senior play area
  10. New benches
  11. New asphalt pathways
  12. New pathways and seating around the existing wading pool
  13. New joint sealant for the existing wading pool
  14. New bottle filler station to replace the existing water fountain
  15. Additional connection to Ryding Avenue (budget dependent)
  16. New benches on concrete pads (budget dependent)
  17. New picnic tables (budget dependent)

Rendering of play equipment with features as described below. Swings are in the foreground, then the senior play structure and wavy climbing wall, in the distance the ramped junior structure and quiet play dome.

  1. Swing set with one swing for ages two to five, two swings for ages five to 12 and one accessible swing
  2. Wavy climbing wall
  3. Senior play structure for ages five to 12 with climbing options and two slides
  4. Play structure for ages two to 12 with a ramp, one slide and climbing options
  5. Quiet play dome 

The Runnymede Park Improvements project was initially created in partnership with the City’s Partnership Opportunities Legacy program (POL) in order to create new community benefits for the park. After an initial consultation with the community in September 2019, an additional consultation was conducted to identify the allocation of Section 37 funds from an adjacent mixed-use development at 2306 St. Clair Ave. W.

The results of this community engagement program identified Runnymede Park as being the preferred location for the allocation of the funding from this development (Section 37).

June 2021

The project team and the local Councillor’s Office move forward with the improvements to Runnymede Park based on various community engagement activities conducted between February and March 2021 for the 2306 St. Clair Ave. W. Neighbourhood Improvements project.

March 2021

Virtual Rating Activity

From March 5 to March 21, 2021, the community participated in a virtual rating exercise to rank their top ideas from previous community feedback collected through an Interactive Mapping Activity and Virtual Open House. The Activity received 2,144 page users (the number of individuals who visited the activity web page at least once) and received 7,499 total ratings across seven ideas.

Download the Virtual Ratining summary report for more information.

February 2021

Virtual Open House

On February 24, 2021, approximately 60 people joined a virtual open house where the project team presented a list of options for how Section 37 benefits could be used for this project. These options were developed using the community’s feedback during the Interactive Map Activity.

Download the February 24, 2021 open house presentation for more information.

Interactive Mapping Activity (Social Pinpoint)

From February 1 to February 19, 2021, using Social Pinpoint’s Interactive Mapping feature, the project team invited community residents to identify and share their experiences and ideas for local neighbourhood improvements based on the neighbourhood study area. The study area was a 2km walking distance from the development that ends at the boundary of Ward 5 (York-South Weston). The information collected from this exercise helped the project team and the local Councillor to identify the needs of the community, and potential options for Section 37 funding.

Overall, the Social Pinpoint activity received:

  • 632 comments in the study area
  • 249 comments related to parks improvements
  • 227 comments related to transportation improvements
  • 471 up-votes on comments in the study area

Download the summary report for more information.

December 2020

Virtual Public Meeting

On December 1, 2020, the proposed design options for the park improvements were presented at a virtual public meeting. The community was able to provide feedback that would be used to help develop a more detailed design plan and further identify priorities for the park improvements. The feedback collected at this meeting helped inform the community engagement that occurred during the 2306 St. Clair Ave. W. Neighbourhood Improvements project.