The City is improving the tennis court area at Clairlea Park. The design will be shaped through community engagement and community feedback will determine whether the existing tennis courts are rehabilitated or repurposed as multi-use sports courts. Proposed improvements include court resurfacing, chainlink fencing replacement and repaving of the trail leading to the court area. Other improvements may also include new seating, picnic tables and soft landscaping such as additional trees and shrubs.
The timeline is subject to change.
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This project has been classified as a Consult project based on the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum. We will obtain public feedback on the direction for the improvements, including the layout and design of the tennis courts and/or multi-use sports court area.
In this phase, the City collected feedback on the vision and direction for improvements to the tennis court area. Community input will determine whether the existing tennis courts are rehabilitated or repurposed as multi-use sports courts. Feedback from this phase will also help develop the design options for Community Engagement Phase 2.
From August 15 to September 8, an online survey collected 463 responses with community input on whether to rehabilitate the existing tennis courts or repurpose them as multi-use sports courts.
Overall, there was a high interest in repurposing at least one of the existing tennis courts and/or the dry pad into a multi-use court while keeping one court for tennis use. Pickleball was the top choice for a repurposed court, followed by notable interest in basketball and badminton courts.
The three existing court spaces for improvements are:
Participants were asked whether they want Courts 1 and 2 to be improved or repurposed.
When asked what type of sports court they would prefer if Courts 1 and 2 were repurposed, participants responded as follows:
Participants were asked whether they want Court 3 to be repurposed for other sports use:
Participants also voted on which additional sports activities they would like included, should budget and space permit:
Participants who commented on other types of sports expressed preferences for these activities:
If budget and space allow, additional amenities may be added to the improved tennis or multi-use court. Participants ranked their top three choices:
Many participants shared additional feedback on making the improved tennis and multi-use sports court area more welcoming and accessible. Key common feedback included:
In this phase, the City and its design consultant presented three design options for community input. The feedback will be used to develop a preferred design for the tennis and multi-use sports court improvements.
Design Option A adjusts Court 2 to a dedicated tennis court with improvements and will repurpose Court 1 and dry pad Court 3.
Other amenities included in this design option are:
Design Option B maintains Court 1 as a tennis court and Court 2 as a duo-use tennis and pickleball court with improvements, while dry pad Court 3 will be repurposed.
Other amenities included in this design option are:
Design Option C adjusts Court 2 to a dedicated tennis court with improvements. Court 1 and Court 3 will be repurposed and a new seating area will be added to the court area.
Other amenities included in this design option are:
On November 24, the project team collected community feedback on the three proposed design options at a pop-up event in Warden Hilltop Community Centre. Approximately 66 community members attended the event.
Participants shared their preferences with sticky dots and comments on sticky notes. Three members of the project team provided information, answered questions and captured additional comments. The local Councillor also attended the event.
Participants were asked to vote for their preferred design option using stick dots:
Additional feedback provided through sticky notes included the following topics:
Other out-of-scope suggestions were also recorded, including requests for a public washroom facility near the courts, a looped walking trail around the park, expanding parking lot capacity and adding a shade structure to the splash pad area.
From November 21 to December 15, an online survey was conducted in English and Bengali, receiving 183 responses. Community members shared their feedback and preferences on the three proposed design options for the court area.
Overall, 31 per cent of participants were very satisfied with the proposed design options and 41 per cent were somewhat satisfied. There were 17 per cent of participants who felt neutral, five per cent were somewhat unsatisfied and six per cent were very unsatisfied.
Participants were asked to rank which design option they would like to see implemented at Clairlea Park. The most to least preferred design options were:
When asked if they will visit Clairlea Park more often after the sports courts area redesign and improvements, participants answered:
Participants were invited to share comments on how the proposed design options can be made more welcoming and accessible for all community members. Some common feedback included:
Other out-of-scope suggestions were also recorded, including requests for a public washroom facility near the courts, adding an outdoor ice rink for hockey and ice skating, adding other types of sports court and improvements to other areas of the park.
In 2019, City Council adopted the Parks and Recreation Facilities Plan, which identified a need for new multi-use sports courts, including basketball and pickleball courts, across the City. The Plan recommended 30 new basketball courts and over 20 years to address current gaps and meet growing demand. In 2023, the City also adopted the Pickleball Play in Toronto report, which included recommendations for the development of new standalone pickleball courts. Clairlea Park was recognized as an ideal location to meet these needs by incorporating a new basketball court or pickleball courts into the existing tennis court area.
As one of the city’s most popular and accessible sports, basketball offers low-cost opportunities for casual and competitive play, appealing to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Similarly, pickleball appeals to diverse groups and skill levels, and has grown very quickly in popularity across Toronto and the world. The expansion of courts aims to ensure equitable access across all communities in Toronto.
Clairlea Park was identified as an ideal location for an outdoor basketball court or pickleball court for the following reasons:
