Canadian Lyndsay

The other day, I contacted the office of Adam Vaughan, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 20, where Clarence Square Park is located.

Today, I received this reply:

Dear Lyndsay,

On behalf of Councillor Vaughan, thanks for your e-mail and for getting in touch with our office.

The plans for revitalization of this park have been underway for several years. A design has been prepared by The Planning Partnership, the same landscape architecture firm that was also involved in the recent revitalization of Victoria Memorial Square, near Portland St and Wellington St W.

The park is undergoing a revitalization process that will include deep-root mulching of the trees on site to help promote their health, aerate the soil, and help improve drainage. Eight trees are being removed with the approval of the City’s Urban Forestry staff. All have issues and were not recommended to remain in the renovated park. They are to be replaced with 22 new trees, planted in the fall, all of native species.

The construction taking place this summer will also upgrade the walkways in the park, add new benches, and create a fenced off-leash area with a dog-accessible water fountain to contain the dog activity in the park. There are also plans to create a central focal point in the middle of the park, but the details of this piece are still being determined. Councillor Vaughan hosted a couple of public meetings about the park revitalization and further consultations will be held about what should go in the centre of the park.

Please let me know if you would like to be added to our e-mail list to receive updates of future meetings.

We are also planning to re-create the ‘greenway’ along the boulevard on Wellington St W to create a green connection from this park to the newly-revitalized Victoria Memorial Square to the west. Construction to remove some of the paving on the boulevard, add grass along the boulevards, and create decorative banding on the edges of the sidewalks, is anticipated to take place this year.

The work in Clarence Square is scheduled to be complete at the end of September. Parks staff have advised me that a construction sign has been put up at the park outlining the work that is taking place.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with further questions.

All the best,
Jen Chan