Baycrest Park Improvements

[Bloor West Villager]

I normally cut through this park from the north end of Yorkdale Station when visiting the neighbourhood and was surprised today to see it was all cordoned off. I came to UT to see what was going on, but couldn't find a thread, so I'm starting my own after some research.

Apparently closed since March 2023 until (at least) Summer 2024, planned improvements will bring many enhancements to the park, including better lighting and seating areas. These updates will be a great benefit to an increasingly densifying neighbourhood.

Pre-closure view: https://goo.gl/maps/iyZFUtCTY8y4PuP3A

Phase One Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/94a0-Baycrest_Park_Phase_1-AODA.pdf

Full Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u...t-park-revitalization-full-build-out-plan.pdf

Link to city's project page: https://www.toronto.ca/city-governm...n-redevelopment/baycrest-park-revitalization/

 

[Northern Light]

That is one very fully programmed park.

There's nothing I strongly object to; there are a couple of question marks in my mind.

I tend to think a bit more buffer planting next to the highway would be ideal

The succession of basketball court, rink, and 2 tennis courts strikes me as odd, and oddly arranged.

If you're going to do outdoor ice, I'd prefer to see a shinny pad and leisure rink together, and to see them sited next to the arena (can all be easily and efficiently serviced by the same piping, compressor and zamboni)

The baseball diamond is adequately sized for softball, I'd be interested to know what the demand is vs hardball for which I'd prefer a slightly larger outfield.

Two courts is a very small tennis facility, I can't remember the last time the City built a facility smaller than three courts.

The road bisects a portion of the park, I'm not keen on that for safety reasons.

I don't get a sense of cohesive integration w/that adjacent school yards, particularly the elementary yard.

I'll now bring the plan forward so people can see what I'm saying:

 

[downtownordinary]

It seems like this is just the phase 1 build out right? I don't see a timeline for the full build out which appears to require the removal of the Highway on-ramp to allow for the new road to connect to Neptune Road.

Unless there's an agreement in place with MTO, I would think that this won't be fully built out for some time.

 

[Bloor West Villager]

The succession of basketball court, rink, and 2 tennis courts strikes me as odd, and oddly arranged.

I'm not clear on why the placement of these facilities are in this order, and why they need to be relocated from their current position. There's plenty of space to put the basketball court beside the current soccer field; though possibly for ease of maintenance, they want to keep all the "court" facilities together and all the "grass" facilities together?

It seems like this is just the phase 1 build out right? I don't see a timeline for the full build out which appears to require the removal of the Highway on-ramp to allow for the new road to connect to Neptune Road.

Unless there's an agreement in place with MTO, I would think that this won't be fully built out for some time.

The plan that @Northern Light has brought forward is the fully built out plan. The city's project page doesn't provide a specific timeline for how long Phase 1 will take vs. the fully built out plan, nor how much of Phase 1 build will be available to the public before full completion, if at all.

 

[allengeorge]

I’m really confused as to why a road is required through the park. Yes, schlepping gear can be annoying, but it’s not egregious if the walking paths are paved and well-maintained.

 

[Bloor West Villager]

I’m really confused as to why a road is required through the park. Yes, schlepping gear can be annoying, but it’s not egregious if the walking paths are paved and well-maintained.

I wonder if this is intended to help divert some traffic. Currently if driving east, the only access to the schools is eastbound on Ranee and then north on Ameer/Neptune, which is a single lane in each direction and can get congested when school buses are parked for drop offs and pick ups.

I agree that the Varna extension could introduce its own safety risks if it is a true bisection of the park, but I think it's going to end up being an upper perimeter.

 

[Northern Light]

Baycrest Park improvements are in the 2024 Capital budget for just under 3M

I note the the word 'additional' above; the way Parks writes their budgets gives me a headache, as they separate out items by funding source. This was the largest sum attached to the Baycrest name.