The City is collaborating with the local Church-Wellesley Village community to develop a new vision and Master Plan for Barbara Hall Park. The objectives of the park vision and Master Plan are to enhance the park’s function for everyday use and, as a central gathering space for the City’s LGBTQ2S+ community, a space capable of accommodating passive and active uses, special events, moments of reflection, and to improve park maintenance and safety.
The timeline is subject to change.
This project has been classified as a Collaborate project based on the International Association of Public Participation‘s Public Participation Spectrum. This means we aim to partner with the public and stakeholders in each aspect of the design process, including the development of design options and the identification of a preferred design.
A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) representing the diverse interests of the community of Barbara Hall park users will be formed and will be engaged throughout the design process.
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This phase of the community engagement process started in January 2023 and includes stakeholder interviews to better understand the issues and opportunities associated with the park. Interviewed stakeholder groups have included:
As an outcome of this phase, a series of draft Drivers of Change will be developed and shared back with the community. The Drivers of Change are the factors driving the need for a park redesign.
During this phase of the community engagement process, the City will work with residents and stakeholders to define a renewed overall vision for the park, including a series of Design Principles and Big Moves which will guide the development of design options in Phase 2.
Anticipated Community Engagement Activities in this phase:
Anticipated outcomes:
During this phase of the community engagement process, the City and its design consultant will work off the outcomes of Phase 1 to develop two to three design options (called concept options) for the park improvements. These will be presented to the community for feedback, with the input collected used to develop a preferred design for the park.
Community Engagement Activities anticipated in this phase will be shared at a later date.
The anticipated phase outcome includes the selection of a preferred design option.
During this phase of the community engagement process, the City will share the preferred design option to the community. Once the preferred design is confirmed, the project will move into the detail design phase, where the design team will finalize the preferred design by working through the technical details and developing detailed plans and drawings to be used by the construction contractor.
Community Engagement Activities anticipated in this phase will be shared at a later date.
The anticipated phase outcome is the refined preferred design.
Barbara Hall Park currently includes the following amenities:
The 519 Community Centre is also located within the park. They host events in the park throughout the year, including their signature Green Space Festival, held during Pride Week.
The park is not currently working well, with maintenance, safety and other issues that impact its enjoyable use by the community. The City has begun a process to develop a renewed vision for the park that addresses these concerns. This process, which will be rooted in collaborative public engagement, will lead to the development of a preferred plan to revitalize the park, including cost estimates that will be used to secure future budget for construction.