Morrish Parkette Expansion

Visit Community Engagement Phase 2 to see the preferred design.

The City is expanding Morrish Parkette by 1,080m2 and is developing the park design with the help of community feedback. The parkette, located at Morrish Road and Old Kingston Road in the Highland Creek neighbourhood, will expand along Morrish Road and will include a new entrance from Military Trail, new seating, pathways and lighting.

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  • Spring to Winter 2023: Community engagement
  • Spring to Winter 2024: Detailed design
  • Spring 2025: Construction starts for the existing parkette and expansion area. The parkette will close to the public
  • Fall 2025: Construction complete, parkette reopens

The timeline is subject to change.

Level of Engagement

This project has been classified as an Involve project based on the International Association of Public Participation 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.

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In this phase of the community engagement process, the City worked with local community members to define a renewed overall vision for the park, which will guide the development of two design options.

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

March 2023

Online Thought Exchange Activity

From February 13 to March 8, 2023, over 110 people participated in an online interactive thought exchange activity where they provided 71 ideas and over 1,200 idea ratings.

Vision for the new park: a relaxing green park that is inclusive, welcoming, and reflects the character of Highland Creek. The park will have passive areas, places to gather, and a playground.

The following summarizes the most popular ideas collected in the activity. Review a full summary of the results in an interactive report.

  • The most popular park uses included:
    • Open green spaces (70 per cent)
    • Places to sit, eat (62 per cent), and gather with friends and family (54 per cent)
    • Planting areas (47 per cent)
    • A children’s play area (46 per cent)
  • The most popular park amenities were a playground area (60 per cent) and adult/senior-oriented space (60 per cent)
  • The most important features to include were:
    • Seating area (89 per cent)
    • Trees and greenspace (86 per cent)
    • Shade feature and/or pavilion (73 per cent)
    • Drinking fountain/water bottle filler (64 per cent)
    • Natural features (51 per cent)
  • Preferred seating in the park included:
    • Benches (77 per cent)
    • Café-style tables with umbrellas and chairs (45 per cent)
  • Build a park that encourages community building and allows residents to socialize and relax
  • Incorporate lots of greenspace, plantings, and trees to create a lush and relaxing space
  • Inclusive features and spaces that appeal to children, teens, adults, and older adults
  • Ensure the park is accessible to people of all abilities (including those with mobility devices, sensory, and other needs)
  • Provide a variety of seating options, with a preference for picnic tables and benches
  • Provide shade throughout the park, like trees, a covered pavilion, and/or gazeebo
  • Ensure safety, especially considering the park is adjacent to a high traffic road, by including:
    • Lighting to allow for more evening uses
    • Buffers from adjacent roadways
  • Keep the park clean, uncluttered, and well-maintained
  • Include fitness and entertainment features that are not available at nearby parks. Consider including activities like:
    • A splash pad
    • Exercise/fitness equipment
    • Basketball
    • Ping pong table
  • Include exciting playground features for all ages and abilities.
  • Build a park that encourages community gathering

In this phase of the community engagement process, the City and its design consultant presented two draft design options to the community for their consideration and feedback. The input collected was used to develop a preferred design for the park expansion.

Preferred Design

Plan view of the expansion area in Morrish Parkette shows flowering trees on either side of the new pathway in the southwest end, near the Military Trail park entrance, a forested area of existing trees to the northwest, a central Gazebo that overlooks the playground to the north, a picnic area in the northeast, near the Morrish Road park entrance, an open lawn space toward the east and a pollinator garden in the southeast. Benches are located along the pathway.

  1. Flowering trees
  2. Existing grove
  3. Playground
  4. Play structure
  5. Gazebo
  6. Picnic area
  7. Open lawn space
  8. Pollinator garden

Final Playground Design

Rendering of final playground design for Morrish Parkette looking southwest. From left to right, it includes monkey bars, a rock climbing wall, a tree house, a log balance beam and a green double junior slide. The grove of existing trees can be seen in the background.

The new playground will be Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliant. The playground will include engineered wood fibre safety surfacing under all play areas and have one play structure for ages five to 12 with:

  • One senior double slide
  • One junior double slide
  • One treehouse
  • One metal ladder
  • One inclusive stationary cycler
  • One firepole
  • One chimney climber
  • One wood plank wiggle ladder
  • One set of log steppers
  • One log balance beam
  • One set of monkey bars
  • Two rock climbing features

Design Options

Sports fields, washrooms, and a splash pad were not included in the design due to the park size, budget, and operational constraints.

Option A

Option A includes a zig-zagging trail through the park that connects Military Trail to Morrish Road. A smaller, secondary path winds through planting beds on the western edge of the park and the existing treed area. Benches are provided along the trails, and picnic tables are provided near a central green lawn. A gazebo looks out onto the central green lawn, and a play area is provided adjacent to the gazebo on the north side of the park. The pathway leading into the park from Military Trail features alcove seating and cherry trees.

  1. Park Sign
  2. Sitting alcove
  3. Kwanzan cherry trees
  4. Main walkway
  5. Permeable trail
  6. Low woodland planting
  7. Water filling station
  8. Lawn/flex space
  9. Leisure walk
  10. Pollinator flowers
  11. Gazebo
  12. Play zone
  13. Picnic area
  14. Proposed wooden fence

Option A includes a zig-zagging trail through the park that connects Military Trail to Morrish Road. A smaller path winds through planting beds on the western edge of the park and the existing area with trees. Benches are along the trails and picnic tables are near the central lawn. A gazebo looks out onto the central lawn and a play area is provided adjacent to the gazebo on the north side of the park. The pathway leading to the park from Military Trail features alcove seating and cherry trees.

Option B

Option B includes a circular trail around the perimeter of the park, with connections to Military Trail and Morrish Road. Benches and alcove seating are provided along the main trail, as well as picnic tables on the northern edge of the park. A gazebo is located along the main path, and a play area is located adjacent to the gazebo towards the west side of the park. Planting beds are provided along the southern edge of the park. The pathway leading into the park from military trail features alcove seating and pollinator flowers.

  1. Park sign
  2. Sitting alcove
  3. Kwanzan cherry trees
  4. Main walkway
  5. Water filling station
  6. Lawn/Flex Space
  7. Leisure walk
  8. Pollinator flowers
  9. Gazebo
  10. Play zone
  11. Picnic area
  12. Proposed wooden fence

Option B includes a circular trail around the perimeter of the park, with connections to Military Trail and Morrish Road. Benches and alcove seating are along the main trail, as well as picnic tables on the northern edge of the park. A gazebo is located along the main pathway and a play area is located adjacent to the gazebo towards the west side of the park. Planting beds are along the southern edge of the park. The pathway leading to the park from military trail features alcove seating and pollinator flowers.

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

August 2023

Online Survey

From August 14 to September 13, 2023, an online survey collected feedback from over 125 community members on two draft design options for the park.

In summary,

  • 50 per cent preferred Option B, 38 per cent preferred Option A, 11 per cent liked both designs equally, and two per cent had no preference between the two designs
  • 75 per cent preferred the nature inspired play area theme, 21 per cent preferred the traditional play area theme, and 5 per cent did not like any of the play area themes
  • When asked about their preferences on play equipment, a majority liked the swing set (73 per cent), play structure with a slide (68 per cent), nature play elements and balance elements (48 per cent)
  • 60 per cent preferred Playground Location B and 37 per cent preferred Playground Location A
  • The top three suggestions to make the play area welcoming to community members included:
    • Focus on safety, such as visibility from the streets, playground distance from the road, and having an emergency phone poll
    • Make the park more accessible by including sensory play for toddlers, wheelchair accessible pathways, and surface without wood chips
    • Provide more seating with shade close to the playground
  • Features and amenities that were not included in either design option that respondents expressed interest in were washrooms, a splash pad, more variety in the play area, more seating with shade near the playground, and the use of soft turf and gravel for surfacing
  • Additional comments included:
    • Plant native trees instead of cherry trees
    • Include game tables such as chess and ping pong and barbeque stands for picnics
    • Include signage for flora and fauna around the park
    • Include winter programming ideas such as natural ice rink

Aerial map of the existing park location, shown in green with a dark green border. The park expansion is shown in a brighter green with a dashed green border. The parkette and expansion are triangular and are located on the western side of Morrish Road. A rectangle showing additional parkette expansion area connects to the northwestern portion of the triangle, and provides a connection to the parkette from Military Trail.