TORBA has been working with Toronto BMX and City of
Toronto to get a skills park to replace the loss of the old High Park BMX area
this past summer.
City staff have now proposed a site (an existing parking
lot in the south-east corner of the park) and have engaged well-known bike park
designer, Jay Hoots www.hoots.ca, to develop
a new park that will include off-road features, skills areas and landscape
amenities.
We now need as many riders as possible to come to the
design consultation meeting. It is important to show our support for a
replacement skills park, and to have input into the design process. The park is
not yet approved and needs strong backing from the cycling community to
proceed. Even if you don't normally ride in this area, please attend the
meeting to show your support - the success of this project will lead to more
City-sanctioned skills parks and trails across Toronto. The City is currently
working on its city-wide Trail Strategy, and it's important for riders to be
included in the process. This skills park is one step along the way.
When: Wednesday October 19th, 6PM - 8:30PM
Where: Rousseau Room, Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia
Avenue (near Bloor and Runnymede).
Whether you can attend the meeting or not, please send an
email to the local councillor, Sarah Doucette, who so far has been very
favourable to this project. If you can't type, even a quick phone call to
Councillor Doucette's office will help - they'll be pleased to hear from you,
as they're supporting the proposal. And while you're at it, please let your
local councillor know of your support as well.
Please note that there is opposition to this skills park.
A small group of people are strongly against the initiative, arguing that there
should not be a skills park anywhere in High Park, and that the car park is too
close to the former site (which may be an ancient Native burial mound). TORBA's
position is that we are very supportive of a new skills park somewhere in High
Park; and that as the City has proposed this site and asked us to attend a
design consultation, we will attend the meeting and participate. There is
likely to be some vocal opposition at the meeting, and we ask you not to be
drawn into argumentative debate. Similarly, if you visit the Facebook event
page for the meeting, you may see argumentative or insulting comments posted
from opponents. We're moderating the page and deleting any comments (for or
against the skills park) that are inflammatory or off-topic, but you may read
them before we get to them. We apologize, but we want to keep the Facebook
event page public. From time to time we've had to take it private to shut down
comments; if you can't access the event page, please email us for an invite.
We hope to see you next Wednesday evening.
Below is the invite from the City's Natural Trails
Program:
Hello mountain bikers and BMXers,
This is to inform you that City of Toronto staff have
recently closed an informal BMX freestyle area (skills park) in High Park to
restore an ecologically significant area. The site has been replanted, fenced
off and is currently being monitored for any further cycling activity.
A new skills park, offering technically challenging
riding in an accessible and controlled environment, will be built on the site
of the existing parking lot in the south east corner of High Park. City staff
are currently working with accomplished skills park designer, Jay Hoots, to
develop the new site that will include appropriate off-road cycling features,
skills areas and landscape amenities.
Please join Jay Hoots and City of Toronto staff on
Wednesday, October 19 from 6:00-8:30pm, at the Rousseau Room, Swansea Town
Hall, to participate in the design consultation for the new skills park in High
Park. Jay wants to hear from you.
Natural Environment Trails Program
To register for the event please contact Scott at
trails@toronto.ca or call 416 338 5053.
