Dufferin Grove Park Playground Improvements

The City is improving the playground in Dufferin Grove Park as part of an ongoing program to enhance playgrounds and play spaces across the city so that everyone can experience the joys and benefits of play for years to come.

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  • Summer 2024: Community Engagement Phase 1
  • Fall 2024: Community Engagement Phase 2
  • Early 2025: Community Engagement Phase 3 and hire a construction team
  • Fall 2025: Construction starts
  • Spring 2026: Construction complete, playground reopens

The timeline is subject to change.

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In this phase of the community engagement process, the project team collected design ideas from community members for the new playground which will guide the development of design options in Community Engagement Phase 2.

The community engagement activities in this phase included:

  • An online survey
  • An in-person pop-up event

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

July 2024

In-Person Summer Camp Workshop

On July 25, the project team attended a summer camp workshop at Dufferin Grove Park from 12:30 to 2 p.m. to share information about the playground improvements and collect feedback from campers.

Eighteen children between five and 10 years old were asked to select their favourite playground activities and preferred colour scheme for the new equipment and provide additional comments or suggestions. The total number of responses is shown in parentheses below.

  • Campers preferred playground activities like climbing (12), swinging on monkey bars (eight), balancing (six), spinning (six), sliding (five), making sounds (five) and playing pretend (three).
  • Campers preferred bright colour schemes like yellow, orange and purple (nine), earthy colours like green, brown and grey (five) and four had no preference.

Additional comments included:

  • Incorporate play challenges with a tall structure.
  • Include a themed structure, like a castle, an elephant, a frog or a bird’s nest.
  • Include a merry-go-round, a tube slide, a tire swing, a rock-climbing wall, a zipline and a trampoline.

Online Thought Exchange Activity

From June 22 to July 8, 715 people participated in an online thought exchange activity where they provided 651 ideas with 12,325 idea ratings.

The design team will use the survey feedback to create park design options, which will be shared for further feedback and refinement in Community Engagement Phase 2.

The most popular ideas provided by participants about the most important considerations for the playground improvements were:

  • Do not disturb the mud kitchen, wading pool or mature trees which provide much-needed shade. The project scope is only within the fenced playground area, so these other areas will not be impacted.
  • Consider sustainability for new materials. Incorporate wood and minimize plastic to blend with the existing aesthetic.
  • Ensure the playground is fun and challenging for children of all ages and allows for risky and imaginative play.
  • Do not reduce the number of structures and do not make the playground area smaller.
  • Include a structure with climbing features and platforms.
  • Ensure that the new structure is unique, creative and natural.

The most popular play activities were:

  • Climbing
  • Sliding
  • Swinging on monkey bars
  • Balancing

52 per cent of respondents preferred an earthy colour scheme of green, brown and grey for the new equipment, 32 per cent preferred bright colours like yellow, orange and purple and 16 per cent had no preference.

June 2024

In-Person Pop-Up Event

On June 22, the project team hosted a pop-up event at the Dufferin Grove Park playground from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to share information about the playground improvements and collect community feedback.

Participants were asked to select their favourite playground activities and preferred colour schemes for the new equipment and provide additional comments or suggestions. Approximately 75 people, many of whom were children using the playground, participated by using stickers to indicate their preferences. The total number of responses is shown in parentheses below.

  • Participants preferred playground activities like climbing (20), balancing (17), swinging on monkey bars (13), sliding (12), playing pretend (11), making sounds (10) and spinning (three).
  • Participants preferred colour schemes like earthy colours such as green, brown and grey (20), bright colours such as yellow, orange and purple (five) and one had no preference.

Additional comments included:

  • Retain the shade in the park and do not impact the existing mature trees.
  • Retain the mud kitchen/adventure playground.
  • Keep the woodland aesthetic by using natural materials.
  • Incorporate challenges for older kids such as climbing.
  • Include a play structure with multiple levels.
  • Add more seating, a water fountain, a merry-go-round and more sand in the sandbox.
  • One comment requested fewer exits to improve safety for wandering children.
  • One comment requested that the large play structure not be removed.

In this phase of the community engagement process, the City and its design consultant worked off the outcomes of Community Engagement Phase 1 to propose three equipment options for the playground improvements. These were presented to the community for feedback, which will be used to develop a preferred option for the playground.

The anticipated outcome of this phase is the selection of a preferred option.

Playground Improvements

A labeled plan of the playground improvements. The labeled improvements in the north half of the playground include two new benches on the north edge. On the east side of the playground a new swing set has been added in the expanded area. In the South half of the playground, existing toys have been repainted and, in some cases, repositioned, and the sandbox has been improved and now includes a new seat wall. A large area of the playground is labeled to indicate the space for a new equipment option that will replace the existing large play structure. 

  1. Existing daisy spring toy (to be restored and repositioned)
  2. Existing seesaw (to be restored and repositioned)
  3. Existing springer (to be restored and repositioned)
  4. Existing junior play structure
  5. Existing climber (to be restored)
  6. Existing swing set (to be restored and reduced to three swing seats)
  7. New swing set with three bucket seats and three belt seats
  8. Existing bench
  9. Existing accessible swing
  10. Upgraded sandbox
  11. New play equipment option (to be decided by community feedback)
  12. Existing shade structure
  13. New accessible pathway connecting to existing pathway
  14. Existing fence (to be removed and replaced)
  15. New post and dowel fence

The proposed improvements include:

  • Adding an accessible pathway and ramp to the playground area to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. This means that people of varying abilities will be able to play at this playground.
  • Restoring some of the existing play features and equipment.
  • Adding engineered wood fibre safety surfacing (wood chips) for safer play.
  • Adding a new post and dowel fence that is safer and easier to maintain around the playground.
  • Expanding the current 990 m2 playground area by about 110 m2.
  • Adding a new swing set in the expanded area.
  • Replacing the large play structure which is aging and unsafe with new equipment.

Equipment Option A

A labeled plan of equipment option a. From north to south, the labeled equipment includes a climbing post and monkey bars; a structure that includes a climbing frame with two platforms, access net, ladder and slide; log frame balance beams; and a climbing log frame with lounging net. 

Option A includes:

  1. Climbing post
  2. Monkey bars
  3. Climbing frame with two platforms, access net, ladder and slide
  4. Log frame balance beams
  5. Climbing log frame with lounging net

Equipment Option B

A labeled plan of equipment option B. From north to south, the labeled equipment includes an overhead climber; net climber; structure with a climbing frame, access net, slide and stilted balance beam; and a structure with a climbing frame with three platforms, climbing net, bridge, ladder, fireman's pole, slide, ramp and climbing wall.

Option B includes:

  1. Overhead climber
  2. Net climber
  3. Climbing frame, access net, slide and stilted balance beam
  4. Climbing frame with three platforms, climbing net, bridge, ladder, fireman’s pole, slide, ramp and climbing wall

Equipment Option C

A labeled plan of equipment option c. From north to south, the labeled equipment includes a log tangle structure with two platforms, a wobble bridge climber, a slide and a climbing wall; and a cabin structure with a small climbing wall and a slide.  

Option C includes:

  1. Log tangle structure with two platforms, a wobble bridge climber, a slide and a climbing wall
  2. Junior tower with mountain cabin

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

December 2024

Online Survey

From November 18 to December 8, an online survey collected feedback on the three playground equipment options.

A summary of the feedback will be posted on this page as soon as it is available.

November 2024

In-Person Pop-Up Event

On November 23, the project team hosted a pop-up event at the playground from 12 to 3 p.m. to share information about the equipment options and collect community feedback.

A summary of the feedback will be posted on this page as soon as it is available.

In this phase of community engagement, the final design for the new playground will be shared with the community on this page and the subscribers on the project mailing list. The project will then move into the detail design phase, where the design team will work through the technical details and develop detailed plans and drawings to be used by the construction contractor.

The anticipated community engagement activities in this phase include an in-person pop-up event.

Dufferin Grove Park Playground is located in the southeast area of the park.

The playground area currently includes:

  • a junior play structure
  • a senior play structure with three bucket swings
  • four belt swings, two bucket swings and an inclusive swing
  • a sandbox
  • a see-saw
  • one daisy spring toy
  • monkey bars
  • four seat spring toys
  • six benches
  • one picnic table
  • a shade structure with seating
  • a community bulletin board

The existing playground is being improved, with one play structure being replaced and some of the existing play features and equipment being restored. The playground is being redesigned using community feedback and is proposed to include:

  • new playground equipment (replacing the large play structure)
  • restoring some of the existing play equipment
  • engineered wood fibre surfacing
  • an accessible pathway and ramp to the playground area
  • a new fence around the playground
  • expanding the playground to add a new swing set

The pathway and ramps connecting the playground area to the main promenade will comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Learn more about how playgrounds are made accessible.

Improvements will only be made in the general playground area and will not include any new lighting or water features or improvements to other areas of the park.