Moss Park Public Consultation Kicks Off with a Community Roundtable

We’re off to a great start talking about what More Moss Park means to you. Over 100 people attended a presentation and round table discussions on Tuesday, May 31, at the John Innes Community Centre. And they brought no shortage of ideas, stories and plans for a possible redevelopment of Moss Park.

Kristyn Wong-Tam, Councillor for Ward 27, was on hand to give a few remarks about the proposed project. Two years ago, Tam’s constituents in Moss Park were telling her that they wanted more from their recreational facilities, programming and services. “Tonight is an opportunity to talk about what ‘more’ means,” said Ms. Tam.

The discussion was kicked off by Peter MacLeod, Principal of MASS LBP, who presented an overview and timeline of the public consultation, as well as some key facts and numbers about current use of Moss Park’s recreational facilities. He also emphasized that the public consultation process is about creating a community-based plan to improve existing programs, facilities and park space, and not about any plan that would reduce programming or make Moss Park less welcoming to the community.

The feasibility study that will be presented to City Council following the public consultation is facilitated by a partnership between the City of Toronto and The 519. Janie Romoff, General Manager of Parks, Forestry & Recreation, and Maura Lawless, Executive Director of The 519, explained how the partnership works and outlined the responsibilities of each city agency.

Following a brief question and answer period, participants broke into round table discussions to share their own experiences and connection with Moss Park, how they currently use the park, arena and community centre, what they think are the current obstacles or areas for improvement, and what they would ultimately like to see in the newly redeveloped recreational facilities and park space.

Participants talked about issues that included the need for more inclusive space and more youth leadership programs, the possibility of making John Innes Community Centre more accessible from Shuter Street, and even the idea of putting a basketball court on the roof of new buildings. People also learned more about what facilities currently exist now. “When I first moved to [Moss Park],” one participant said,”I thought [John Innes Community Centre] was a disco!”

Overall, the first Community Roundtable was a successful demonstration of how passionate community members and residents are about Moss Park’s current state and its future possibilities. But it is only the beginning of a months-long public consultation period that will continue through to September 30. Please join us for the next event — the Facilities Design Workshop on Monday, June 6, 6:30p.m-8:30p.m. at John Innes Community Centre, 150 Sherbourne St., and sign up for more updates as the conversations continue.

Photography by Paul Terefenko