Royal Rouge Tot Lot Improvements

• Summer to Fall 2025: Hire a design team and Community Engagement Phase 1
• Winter 2025 to Winter 2026: Community Engagement Phase 2
• Spring 2026: Detailed design
• Summer 2026: Hire a construction team
• Fall 2026: Construction starts
• Late 2026: Construction complete

The timeline is subject to change

Online Survey

December 12, 2025 to January 14, 2026

Take the online survey to provide feedback on the park improvements, including proposed designs for the upgraded playground and the new fitness area. The project team will use this community feedback to develop a preferred design.

The survey results will be shared on this page.

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Level of Engagement

This project has been classified as a Consult project based on the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum. This means we collect and consider public feedback on proposed improvements to inform the development of a final playground and park design.

In this phase, the City will collect design ideas and preferences from community members for the playground and park improvements. This input will guide the development of design options in Community Engagement Phase 2.

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

September 2025

Online Survey

From August 25 to September 28, an online survey collected feedback from 142 respondents on priorities for the new playground design and potential park improvements.

Respondents were asked what play structures they would like the new playground to include:

• 71 per cent liked both a junior play structure and a senior play structure
• 19 per cent liked a senior play structure for ages five to 12
• Seven per cent liked a junior play structure for ages two to five
• Three per cent had no preference

Respondents were asked to share their preferred colour scheme for the new playground:

• 54 per cent liked bright colours such as purple, orange, blue and yellow
• 29 per cent liked earthy colours such as green, brown and grey
• 17 per cent had no preference

When respondents were asked which scenario they prefer for the park improvements:

• 52 per cent chose expanding and improving the existing playground by using part of the open lawn
• 45 per cent chose improving the existing playground within its current footprint and adding new recreation facilities or amenities in the open lawn
• Three per cent had no preference

When respondents were asked what they most wanted to do on an improved open lawn, the top-ranked activities were:

• Play and spend time with children (23 per cent)
• Play sports (19 per cent)
• Play games (nine per cent)

If improvements are made to the open lawn, the recreation facilities or amenities respondents would like are:

• A soccer and multi-use field (40 per cent)
• A fitness area (31 per cent)
• A shade structure (29 per cent)

If budget permits, the additional park features respondents would like are:

• A drinking fountain and water bottle filler (29 per cent)
• New seating areas (29 per cent)
• Game tables (23 per cent)
• New plantings (18 per cent)

For seating in the park:

• 79 per cent of respondents liked benches
• 70 per cent of respondents liked patio tables with umbrellas and chairs
• 62 per cent of respondents liked picnic tables
• 57 per cent of respondents liked armour stone seatwalls
• 45 per cent of respondents liked Muskoka chairs

42 respondents shared additional comments about the proposed playground and park improvements. Common themes included:

• Suggestions for specific types of playground equipment
• Ensuring the park is accessible and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities
• Improving lighting in the park
• Preserving green space

In this phase, the City and its design consultant will use the outcomes of Community Engagement Phase 1 to develop design options for the playground and park improvements. These options will be presented to the community for feedback, which will be used to develop a preferred design.

Park Improvements

1. Existing asphalt pathway
2. New benches
3. New drinking fountain and water bottle filler
4. New accessible picnic table
5. Existing concrete paving
6. New 280-square-metre playground with wood fibre safety surfacing
7. Existing 165-square-metre playground with sand surfacing (shown with a red dashed line)
8. New 56-square-metre fitness area with wood fibre safety surfacing
9. New asphalt pathway
10. New armour stones in an amphitheatre-style arrangement

Playground Design Options

All three designs are Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliant, include a similar number of play features with wood fibre safety surfacing and cost about the same amount.

Design Option A: Green and Tan Theme

Design Option A includes:

• A swing set with:
  • two belt swings
  • one bucket swing
  • one accessible swing
• A junior play structure for ages two to five with:
  • one platform
  • one double slide
  • one rope climber
  • one platform-level play feature
  • two ground-level play features
• A senior play structure for ages five to 12 with:
  • one curving slide
  • one net climber
  • one multi-level rope and panel climber
  • one ground-level play feature
• A seated spinner toy
• Play panels

Design Option B: Purple and Teal Theme

Design Option B includes:

• A swing set with:
  • two belt swings
  • one bucket swing
  • one accessible swing
• A junior play structure for ages two to five with:
  • one platform
  • one double slide
  • two climbers
  • one ground-level play feature
• A senior play structure for ages five to 12 with:
  • two platforms
  • one spiral slide
  • four climbers
  • platform- and ground-level play features
• An overhead climber
• A car-shaped spring toy
• A barrel spinner toy

Design Option C: Rainbow Theme

Design Option C includes:

• A swing set with:
  • two belt swings
  • one bucket swing
  • one accessible swing
• A junior play structure for ages two to five with:
  • one platform
  • one double slide
  • one climber
  • one platform-level play feature
• A senior play structure for ages five to 12 with:
  • two platforms
  • one wavy slide
  • one veering slide
  • four climbers
  • platform- and ground-level play features
• An overhead climber
• A bowl-shaped spinner toy

Proposed Fitness Area Design

The proposed design includes:

• Two instruction panels
• Parallel bars
• Double push-up bars
• Long bench

Royal Rouge Tot Lot is located at 65 Royal Rouge Tr., near Sheppard Avenue East and Kingston Road in Scarborough.

The playground is located near the centre of the park and currently includes:

• One swing set with:
  • one swing for ages two to five
  • one swing for ages five and up
• A junior play structure with a small slide
• Two teeter-totters
• Sand under all play areas

The playground will be redesigned using community feedback and is proposed to include:

• Playground equipment for ages five to 12
• Additional seating
• Engineered wood fibre surfacing
• An accessible pathway to the playground area

The play equipment and pathway connecting to the playground area will comply with AODA. Learn more about how playgrounds are made accessible.

Improvements to the playground will not include any new water or lighting features. Improvements to other areas of the park will be guided by community feedback and may include new seating, accessible pathways and adult fitness equipment.