January 08, 2018

Just before the holidays, the City let us know they’re open to moving the dog park from the flat, exposed area on top of Sir Winston Churchill to a more protected area in Nordheimer Ravine, near the bridge. This would give us an off-leash area with proper drainage and more interesting topography for the dogs. The proposed location would also be more accessible without having to climb stairs.

The move would also free up space on top of Sir Winston Churchill for other improvements: better layout for the tennis courts, a wider path on the east side of the park, even a public garden.

The City will hold a public meeting in collaboration with Parks, Forestry & Recreation in February to inform the community about the proposal to move the dog off leash area. This will give local residents an opportunity to provide feedback and comment on the initial design. We'll circulate date, time and location when it's available.

Information about the new location and proposed design will also be available online for people to comment on.

There will be additional updates in the coming months about the potential for further public consultations regarding the reconstruction of the park. 

We’ll pass along additional information as we get it. In the meantime, if you want to contact the City directly, try Stephanie Gris Bringas -  Stephanie.GrisBringas@toronto.ca.  She’s taken over from Kate Nelischer as the liaison on this project.

If you have questions please don't hesitate to contact us!

November 06, 2017

All the great ideas to date can be found here!

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They are edited to be focused on ideas and some duplicates were taken out.

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We met October 18th to formally launch the Sir Winston Churchill Park Association and discuss the various aspects of the park that we would like to see be developed.

We reviewed the numerous great ideas that have been submitted online since the September kick-off, and many more were generated last night. There are bigger ideas we need to act on now as the planning for rehabilitation is well underway; others that add to or tweak the current plan that can be addressed a bit later.

The major items are the dog park and tennis courts.  

Dog Park:

There is strong support for moving the off-leash dog park from its current location down into the "bowl" , south-west of the park from the current construction site entrance, below the Nordheimer bridge.  The existing location has issues with drainage, shade and relentless heat in the summer. Access is difficult in winter and there is a lack of topography.  A move to the "bowl" should allow for better drainage, more varied topography, potential for shade, and better accessibility via Russell Hill Road / Roycroft Trail.  

The SWCPA is in support of an off-leash dog park in this location with proper drainage to allow for year round use, a water fountain (for dog and human use), shade seating and lighting.  

We believe, there are other benefits to this location. It will be distinctly separate and away from the children's playground (often a concern for parents) and a built-in stewardship with a regular presence in the ravine.  The latter might help curtail vandalism which has always been a problem under the bridge, even in the wake of the beautiful new renovated area on the south entry.

The space liberated in Sir Winston Churchill Park by moving the off-leash area allows for new features that enhance the park. The community is excited at the prospect of establishing a quiet area at the southern end of the park: a serenity space where people can enjoy the cityscape, the view into Nordheimer, with features like a rose-garden, seating areas, bocce courts, chess and ping-pong tables.

Tennis Courts:

There is also strong support for reconfiguring the tennis courts. A major benefit is wider north-south access along the west side of the park. Currently, the path narrows precipitously between the courts and the east slope. The path is heavily used: runners, families, cyclists and general visitors: congestion is problematic.

If the dog park were relocated, the tennis courts could move from a two 5-court (2 x 5) configuration to a three 4-court (3 x 4) configuration and move slightly west.  This would open up the north-south throughway, and allow for two extra courts that respond to high community demand for time on the tennis courts.  

With new condos — and residents — joining the neighborhood, the extra courts offer all-age recreation and address the waitlist and court congestion at present tennis locations.

The Sir Winston Churchill Park Tennis Club (SWCPTC) has already declared their interest in supporting more courts and intent to help with capital expenditures.

October 14, 2017

We have secured a location and a date and time for our next meeting.  

Wednesday OCTOBER 18 at 7pm

Holy Rosary Hall, 356 St Clair West - just east of Loblaws

Room 5 - upstairs, turn right. 

We would love to have you come and help us get ideas we've gathered into motion.

Agenda for the meeting:

1.  Call to Order

2.  Share the ideas from our online form

3.  Update on the Park and the timelines and milestones 

4.  Association structure:  President, VP, Committee chairs for various areas of the Park (e.g. dog park, sports field, playground, tennis courts, natural/gardens)

5.  Fundraising

6.  Next Steps

Please do let as many people as you know that we are meeting and invite them to get involved!

September 22, 2017

Notes from our first meeting is up on our blog and you can download them here.

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The powerpoint from the City is available here.

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We still want your ideas so don't hesitate to tell us about your great ideas for the park here

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And we want to make sure you can join us for our next meeting in October.  Please fill in this form to let us know what dates work for you!

September 19, 2017

Please find the agenda for tomorrow night here: SWC agenda, 20 Sept 2018.pdf

September 17, 2017

We are getting ready for our first meeting and we will have guests from the City of Toronto Engineering. Parks Forestry and Rec, and Public Consultation; plus Councillor Mihevic, and representatives from Councillor Matlow.

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We do realise the date may not work for everyone and we intend to record the meeting for everyone to make sure you don't miss out. 

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We also would like to get your great ideas for the park and have created this google form which you can fill out and make sure we can hear your great idea.  

Please do feel free to send us your ideas in this simple form: 

https://goo.gl/forms/h4HFvZqPe2O6dVAn2

We're also keen to find any volunteers to help us as we try to build the Park assocation.  So feel free to answer Y to the last question!

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August 26, 2017

Sir Winston Churchill Park Association will hold its first meeting on Wednesday September 20th at 7pm at Grace-Church-on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road.

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Please come and join us and find out more about what the association, the latest on the park renovation and rehabilitation plans.

Representatives from Councillor Matlow and Mihevic's offices, City of Toronto Parks Forestry and Recreation department and the St Clair Reservoir Public Consultation will be in attendance too.

August 24, 2017

Learn more about us!

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Contact us at swc.park.assoc@gmail.com