Candidates in Toronto’s west end clash over future of High Park - CBC

A city plan to revamp streets and limit car access to Toronto’s High Park is dividing the city councillor race in Ward 4, with community groups and candidates split on what’s best for the park’s future.

Throughout the 400-acre park, pylons and construction barriers line parts of the roads as the city continues its work to limit vehicular traffic.

It’s part of the city's long-term High Park Movement Strategy (HPMS), approved by council in 2023, which includes fully closing roads to car traffic. Cars are already banned in the park on weekends and the city is still considering redesign options.

Advocacy group High Park Access, which opposes a city plan to revamp High Park that includes limiting car traffic, sent a survey out to the ward's 10 candidates asking whether they would push to 'immediately suspend' efforts to implement the plan. Responses were mixed. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC)

For Marshall Leslie, director of advocacy group High Park Access, which is opposed to the city’s car-free strategy, the redesign is top of mind ahead of the Oct. 26 municipal election.

"It’s certainly moulded my thoughts and my personal decision about who I will support," he said.

It’s also a deciding factor for Faraz Golizadeh, co-chair of street-safety community group Safe Parkside, which wants to see the car ban fully implemented. 

"There’s no need to have people driving through a park and that’s what we plan on voting for," Golizadeh said.

They’re not the only ones. CBC spoke to four of the 10 candidates vying to represent Parkdale-High Park as city councillor — a job that's wide open since longtime incumbent Gord Perks announced his retirement — and all four said access to High Park has been a top concern for voters they've heard from. 

Leslie said many of the amenities, like tennis courts, soccer fields and a skating rink, are located at the centre of the park. He said banning cars will “doom” those youth sports leagues and summer camps by making them more difficult to access for families and small children. 

He said accessible parking spots have already been significantly reduced, making it harder for people with disabilities to reach parts of the park.

There are currently 24 accessible spaces available at High Park, two more than there were when the HPMS was approved in May 2023, according to city spokesperson Jas Baweja.

Crews have removed 266 regular parking spaces in recent years to create more green space and prioritize walking and cycling, according to Baweja. He said some were converted to accessible spaces.

Luke Anderson, executive director of accessibility advocacy group Stop Gap Foundation, echoed Leslie's sentiments, saying the city needs clarity on what vehicles will be permitted into the park.

Only people with accessible parking permits should be allowed to park inside the area, he said.

Marshall Leslie, director of advocacy group High Park Access, says limiting car access will 'doom' youth sports leagues and summer camps that operate at the sports facilities in the middle of the park. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC)

"Broadly allowing vehicles to access the park, doesn't meet the needs for safety for our pedestrians and cyclists," he said, adding other accessibility concerns should also be addressed, including wider sidewalks and more access routes off of sidewalks.

Golizadeh said limiting car traffic would make High Park safer for children and people with disabilities. 

"They're misguided in their efforts," he said of those opposed to the car ban. "They keep using disability as a crutch for stopping this work."

Instead, he said, there needs to be more accessible alternatives to cars.

High Park Access sent a survey out to the 10 candidates in the ward, asking their position on halting the city’s plan for High Park. They published the results online, which indicate seven candidates responded. 

The survey asked if candidates would "call to immediately suspend" the implementation of the HPMS and redo consultations, deeming them inadequate because they were done online.

Nadia Guerrera, a local teacher, was among the three candidates who answered in favour. 

"As far as I see it, we're still in a moment of dialoguing," Guerrera told CBC News, adding she heard complaints about the city’s consultation and accessibility concerns while door knocking. 

"I don't think that the current framing around protecting green space has to come by excluding people," said Guerrera. "I think we can do both."

Other candidates, like housing advocate Diana Chan McNally and TDSB Trustee Debbie King, were against suspending the plan and redoing consultations. 

City councillor candidate Diana Chan McNally says she wouldn’t call to stop the work that’s already underway, if elected, but would push to increase other accessibility measures before the ban on cars is implemented. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC)

"I certainly support a reimagined vision for the park," King said, though she added the plan needs some other updates. "I support a car restriction."  

Chan McNally said while she wouldn’t call to stop the work that’s already underway, the plan raises some accessibility concerns that need to be addressed before banning cars. That could include adding accessible parking spots, restoring trails and providing better transit within the park, she said.

"I don't think it's appropriate for us to move forward until that's actually done," she said, adding she would consult with residents and raise the issue at city hall. 

Vanessa Raponi, a candidate with a background in engineering, didn’t say whether she would call for an immediate suspension of the plan. She said she doesn’t want to stop the work, but she doesn’t support a car ban either.

Is Toronto broken or thriving? Candidates can’t agree

"I'm not supportive of High Park being a thoroughfare with a prioritization of vehicles," she said. "But I am very supportive of adapting access so that every person can comfortably use the space," she told CBC in an interview.

CBC Toronto spoke to four candidates about this topic as they had differing responses to the High Park Access survey. For a full list of the 10 candidates running to be city councillor in Parkdale-High Park, check the city’s website.

Olivia Piercey is a journalist at CBC Toronto. She previously worked at CBC Nova Scotia and her stories have appeared in digital publications as well as on national radio broadcasts. She is most interested in stories about accessibility and technology.