IN DEFENCE OF EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH PARK: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL, AND TORONTO’S MAYORAL CANDIDATES

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL, AND TORONTO’S MAYORAL CANDIDATES

IN DEFENCE OF EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH PARK:

KEEP HIGH PARK OPEN TO VISITOR VEHICLES!

On behalf of the three leading Ukrainian-Canadian umbrella organizations representing 86 branches and member organizations, we, the undersigned, appeal to the City of Toronto to end its discriminatory policy aimed at permanently banning vehicle access to High Park.

The City of Toronto has embarked on a policy path that has snowballed into a de facto “war on equal access to High Park.” What initially began, in the spring of 2018, as a restriction on the number of vehicles having access to the park during cherry blossom season, has morphed into an extremist Committee motion to keep the park closed to vehicles on weekends and statutory holidays, culminating in an “end goal” that the City says will be a permanent ban on vehicle access to High Park.

Sadly, the City has failed to conduct a transparent and democratic consultation process with the various stakeholders that will be impacted by the proposed policy, including the Ukrainian Canadian community which has a historic relationship with the park.

High Park is home to the iconic statue of Lesya Ukrainka, the world-renowned poetess, civil, and feminist activist, whose monument in the park was commissioned by the Ukrainian Canadian Women’s Council. The statue’s unveiling in 1975 was presided over by Canadian officials from three levels of government. Since then, for almost 50 years, the site has served as a gathering place for annual literary and cultural events, attracting participants of all ages from across southern Ontario, most of whom travel to the park by car. Each of these events are attended by families, school children, and seniors, who have difficulty walking long distances and who depend on the convenience of parking their vehicles near the site. These visitors bring strollers, blankets, chairs, musical instruments, etc., all of which require transportation by vehicle and the convenience of parking. Because of the weekend restrictions to vehicles, many of these cultural gatherings, including the annual cultural tribute to poetess Lesya Ukrainka held by the UCWC in September, is forced to limit itself to weekdays, because access to parking is essential. What’s more, most of these attendees cap their visit with a meal at the Grenadier Restaurant. Banning access to drivers will not only negatively impact the number of repeat visitors to the park but also the loyal patrons who support the restaurant.

Yet neither the Ukrainian Canadian Women’s Council and its member organizations, nor any of the other Ukrainian Canadian organizations utilizing the park (such as the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Toronto Branch, Toronto Ukrainian Festival, etc.) were invited to participate in the City’s consultations with stakeholders on the proposed restrictions on public access to High Park.

Equally troubling is the way that City Council has used the access issue to create what amounts to an artificial class war between bikers, pedestrians, and vehicle owners. No group of users is more important than the others. Yet, in public debates by city councillors, visitors who rely on car parking have been depicted as undesirables, whereas biker access is characterized as noble. The approach is illogical, since it punishes the vehicle-owning families and seniors who loyally frequent the park and ignores the often-dangerous incidents involving racing bikers. Let us not forget that the drivers together with the passengers of their much-maligned vehicles in fact represent the thousands of visiting pedestrians that wish to enjoy the park, its programs, and facilities.

Vehicles no longer pose the environmental menace of the past. As experts now contend, the rise in fuel-efficient technologies coupled with society’s transition to electric vehicles are diminishing environmental hazards, ushering in a steady decline in greenhouse gas emissions.

Ultimately, banning vehicle access to High Park will have several negative consequences:

Drivers will seek parking on neighbouring streets, causing distress for both the residents of the area and frustration for the aspiring visitors. City Hall will likely attempt to remedy a problem that it itself created by installing parking meters on these streets (once again financially burdening the wallets of Torontonians — visitors and local residents alike). Visitors from southern Ontario and the GTA will eventually stop frequenting High Park. Eventually the sports, cultural, senior programs will suffer and nature lovers, picnic-goers, dog owners, as well as the visitors to the historic Grenadier Restaurant and the beloved Zoo will ALL decline. In short, you will have punished the very demographic that we need to make High Park the welcoming and dynamic place it has always been.

We can already foresee the detrimental impact of denying visitors equal access to High Park:

As of August of this year, the City is proposing to reduce the parking spaces in High Park by 60% from 562 to 227 which will have a negative effect on the High Park area in general. Visitor parking adjacent to the park is minimal, and parking on the local roads is already above capacity. West Road will lose 105 spots on the east side, leaving 0 parking spaces for the Playground, Splash Pad, sports fields and nature trails. Colborne Lodge Drive will lose 154 spaces, all on the west side from Bloor to the Restaurant, leaving only 48 on the east side for those wishing to access the Allotment Gardens, the Dogs Off Leash area, pool, tennis courts, theatre as well as visitors who simply want to picnic, enjoy the gardens and nature. The Restaurant Parking area will be reduced from 130 to only 96 spots, the Zoo parking lot will be reduced from 73 to 62 and Spring Road will remain at 21.

This represents a net loss of 335 spaces, leaving only 227 parking spaces for a regional park that hosts over a million visitors a year!

Wha punitive policy will follow next? Paid parking — which will further PUNISH current and future visitors who we should be attracting, rather than penalizing?

We appeal to you to keep the existing 562 parking spaces and increase parking for persons with disabilities and urge you NOT to ban visitor vehicle access in the future!

Let’s end this elitism!

Let’s end the planned restrictions on vehicle access!

Let’s stop punishing families, small children, seniors, out-of-town visitors, and those with mobility issues!

Let’s embrace transparency, inclusion, and open access to High Park for all!

Yours respectfully,

Lisa Shymko, President

Ukrainian Canadian Women’s Association – Toronto Branch

Petro Schturyn, President

Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Toronto Branch

Taras Bahriy, President

Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Provincial Council

For more information, contact : Lisa Shymko Tel:  416-894-5518 ucwcouncil@gmail.com