New Park - 1 Defries

May 2023: Leave your mark, Name this park! 

Our ward is happy to invite you to name this park! any idea is a good idea and all ideas will be collected and voted on across the ward!

In your proposed park name, please include a short description on why you chose to name the park this name.

February 2023

Online Survey

From January 25, 2023 to February 15, 2023, an online survey was available for community members to share their thoughts on the preferred design for the new park. The survey was extended from March 2 to March 10, 2023.

May 2022

Phase 1: Vision for the Park

To help understand the community’s priorities for the future park, the City engaged the community in an online survey, classroom workshop and park pop-up event. The design team will use the feedback collected to develop a proposed design for the park.

Online Survey

From April 8 to May 27, 2022, 240 community members participated in an online survey where they shared a total of 194 ideas and over 3,800 ratings of those ideas for the new park. Review all raw ideas and rankings

Key Feedback Highlights

• When asked what types of programming they would like to see in the park, 87 per cent of participants selected seating with trees and planting, 49 per cent selected a play area, and 40 per cent selected outdoor fitness equipment
• Benches were the preferred type of seating for the park (65 per cent), followed by café style tables (50 per cent) and Muskoka chairs ( 49 per cent)
• Sliding, climbing and swinging were the preferred types of playground activities
• Pull-up bars and push-up bars, followed by step benches and climbing structures were the preferred types of fitness equipment
• Respondents felt that lighting, wide pathways, and clear visibility and sightlines were important to providing a sense of safety in the park

The most popular ideas within the project scope for the new park were:

• Ensure the new park has plenty of green space, trees, and as well as pollinator, hardy and native plants to support the creation of a healthy ecosystem and relaxing park space
• Provide a sense of safety by ensuring there are no blind spots and that the park is well-lit. Provide clear sight lines toward adjacent roads and the slope located to the east of the new park
• Ensure the new park design considers noise from nearby roads, including Dundas Street East, Bayview Avenue, River Street and the Don Valley Parkway.
• Create a park that provides plenty of opportunities for residents and visitors to meet and get together with friends and family, including areas with wheelchair-accessible tables and seating to enjoy meals and relax
• Ensure the park is fully accessible to those of all ages and abilities, including those with mobility devices, sensory, and other special needs.
• COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of public park space for residents’ mental health, their ability to spend time alone outside of their homes, and safely meet with neighbours, friends, and family. As such, ensure the new park includes plenty of diverse seating options, tables, and park features that support person-to-person interaction
• Provide park features that appeal to teens, as well as younger and older adults.
• Provide a drinking fountain or station to provide park users access to water to keep hydrated
• Ensure the park is clean and well maintained by providing a sufficient amount of garbage bins, including cigarette disposal receptacles and/or ashtrays, as well as pet waste bins to help mitigate litter in the new park

Classroom Workshops

On May 24, 2022, the project team held four classroom workshops at Nelson Mandela Park Public School for approximately 80 students in grades one, two, three, five, six, seven, and eight.

Popular ideas from younger students (grades one to three) were:

• A set of swings
• A ball pit
• Monkey bars
• A basketball net
• A hopscotch board
• A treehouse
• A fresh fruit garden
• Café tables
• A climbing wall
• A flower garden
• Publish washroom
• A decorative water fountain

Popular ideas from older students (grades five to eight) were:

• An obstacle course
• Monkey bars
• Larger slides for older children and teens and smaller slides for younger children
• Swings for older children and teens
• A zip line
• A flower garden
• Plenty of umbrella tables
• A bike lane or biking infrastructure
• Large green spaces
• Several sports courts and fields including a volleyball court, half-basketball court
• Vending machine
• Water fountain