TOcore is a vital plan that…

TOcore is a vital plan that will guide the overall growth and health of downtown Toronto. It is a plan that was devised with input from community and industry stakeholders. We are writing in support of the policies included within TOcore that support a vibrant, protected, and high quality parks and public realm system within downtown Toronto. The park plans and policies within TOcore speak to the need to acquire new parks and open spaces as downtown grows, but also to focus on revitalizing our existing parks to ensure we are getting the most out of them and connecting them into a coherent and navigable park system. The plan speaks to the need to ensure we are paying particular attention to the local history and nuance of downtown neighbourhoods, which are often very different from each other, and plan neighbourhood park systems that reflect those different characters. In a time of hyper downtown growth where land prices are astronomical and out of reach for the City to acquire as land to create new parks, TOcore’s policies ensure we will have a strong, growing park system for years to come. In particular, policies that support on-site dedication of land for new parks in developments and reviewing Section 42 policies to ensure they are related to the intensity of development and not artificially capped by the size of the land parcel being developed. This is critical because new park users don’t stop being generated by a high-density building just because an artificial land cap was reached—everyone in a new development puts pressure on the park system. We also support policies regarding the protection of park spaces from shadowing. These policies are critical to protecting the health of these public spaces and of our communities. Access to sunlight is an important element in promoting park use in the shoulder seasons, allowing for greater use of parks for more of the year. This promotes the benefits of parks to our mental and physical health and social connections within our communities. Additionally, the natural environment of parks—the trees and plants that make up their landscapes—require sunlight to grow and thrive. We’ve seen this firsthand with the difficulties in redesigning College Park, a downtown park that has become encircled with tall buildings, to include landscape features. Once sunlight is gone, it is likely gone forever. We need strong protections as we grow to ensure that our great parks are not cast in shadow. As you consider approving TOcore, we hope you take these supportive comments into consideration.