The City is improving Willowdale Park with proposed upgrades that include a new playground offering fun and creative play opportunities, a new fitness area, a shade structure and repairs to the tennis courts.
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The timeline is subject to change.
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This project has been classified as an Involve project based on the International Association for Public Participation Spectrum. This means we work directly with the public, stakeholders, and rightsholders throughout the design process to ensure that ideas and aspirations are understood and considered in the design process.
In this phase, the project team collected feedback on the current use of the playground and suggestions for improvements to both the park and playground. This feedback was used to guide the development of design options in Community Engagement Phase 2.
Participants wanted to see the following improvements to the new playground:
Participants wanted to see the following features added to the park:
73 per cent of respondents indicated that both the playground and seating areas need more shade.
73 per cent of respondents preferred separate play structures for younger and older children over one large play structure for all ages.
Feedback on the community’s preferences for the future playground design was collected in an online survey from July 16 to August 8, 2021. The design team will use this feedback to develop multiple playground design options. The survey received a total of 581 responses, which included feedback from 1,279 participants of various ages.
Download the August 2021 survey summary.
The public was invited to a virtual public meeting to learn more about the project and share their vision for the playground improvements.
In this phase, the City and the design consultant used the outcomes of Community Engagement Phase 1 to develop three design options for the playground improvements. These options and other park features will be presented to the community for feedback. This feedback will inform the development of a preferred design for the park.
The anticipated outcome of this phase is the selection of a final design.
Design Option 1 includes the following features:
Design Option 2 includes the following features:
Design Option 3 includes the following features:
From February 18 to March 11, an online survey received 193 submissions collecting feedback on preferences for playground improvements and other park features. The survey was available in English, Korean, Farsi and simplified and traditional Chinese.
Overall, 79 per cent of respondents indicated they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the proposed park layout.
Key feedback, with the total number of ‘agree’ responses in parentheses, follows:
Participants were asked if there was anything they would change about the park layout to make it more welcoming and accessible. 77 respondents (40 per cent) provided additional feedback. The following major themes emerged in the responses:
Overall, six per cent of respondents preferred this option.
The most important features were:
Overall, 59 per cent of respondents preferred this option.
The most important features were:
Overall, 25 per cent of respondents preferred this option.
The most important features were:
Participants were asked what type of colours they like best for the new playground:
Participants were asked if there was anything they would change about the playground to make it more welcoming and accessible. 32 respondents (16 per cent) provided additional feedback. The following major themes emerged in the responses:
Participants were asked what fitness area option they like best:
The most important fitness equipment features were:
Participants were asked if they had additional feedback on how to make the fitness area more welcoming and accessible. 14 respondents (seven per cent) provided additional feedback. The following major themes emerged in the responses:
Participants were asked what shade structure option they liked best:
Participants were asked if they had additional feedback on how to make the shade structure more welcoming and accessible. 11 respondents (five per cent) provided additional feedback. The following major themes emerged in the responses:
On February 23, an open house took place at North York Central Library to share three design options for the playground and other park features and collect feedback. Approximately 139 participants attended the open house.
Key feedback on the proposed park layout, with the total number of ‘agree’ responses in parentheses, follows:
Participants provided additional feedback using self-stick notes and suggested adding a publicly accessible washroom to the park. They also recommended increasing access to tennis courts and the parking lot and exploring pickleball options.
The most popular playground options were:
The most popular play features for the improved playground were:
Participants provided additional feedback using self-stick notes and suggested adding a zip-line and accessible swing options. They also recommended shade and canopies above play equipment.
The most popular fitness equipment options were:
Participants provided additional feedback using self-stick notes and suggested adding options to the fitness area to facilitate parkour.
The most popular shade structure options were:
Participants provided additional feedback using self-stick notes and suggested increasing the size of the shade structure and including more seating options under the canopy.
In this phase, the preferred design for the park will be shared with the community on this page and the project mailing list. The project will then move into the detailed design phase where the design team will work through the technical details and plans for the construction contractor.
Willowdale Park is located at 75 Hollywood Ave., near Sheppard Avenue East and Doris Avenue. The children’s playground is located at the centre of the park, south of Hollywood Avenue and East of Doris Avenue.
The playground currently includes:
The playground will be redesigned using feedback from the community. The redesigned playground is proposed to include:
Improvements will only be made in the general playground area. This will not include any new lighting features or improvements to other areas of the park.