Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas and experiences with us earlier this year! We spoke with residents to understand how they use Arnold, Ash, Lips, Guelph, and Hillside Parks today, how the parks can better serve the community as a network, and to identify community and park strengths and needs.

Between September 12 and October 8, residents shared their feedback both online and in-person. Online options included a 10-minute park experience survey and an activity focused on the needs and strengths of the Lancaster Park Network and surrounding community. In-person activities were offered at the Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association’s Welcome Back Picnic, Bridgeport and Breithaupt Community Centres, a launch event at Guelph Street Park, and pop-up events across the Lancaster West Park Network.

We received a total of 118 responses through the online activities. Another 172 people participated in community events and pop-ups held at parks, community facilities, and as part of other neighbourhood events. Together, these activities generated more than 300 comments from children, youth, adults, and older adults.

Several common themes emerged from the feedback, including:

• a desire for playground renewal
• increased shade and more comfort amenities
• recreational opportunities for different age groups
• improved walking and dog-walking amenities
• the need for greater accessibility
• addressing safety and access concerns

Network strengths and needs

When all the feedback was reviewed together, several strengths and needs were identified across the park network.

Strengths

• Multiple neighbourhood parks within walking distance from home
• Play opportunities for young children
• Quiet neighbourhood park character
• Existing green/open spaces
• Strong dog-walking presence
• Well-loved winter activities including a skating rink and tobogganing hill
• Community appreciation for trees and green space

Needs

• More diverse and updated play opportunities
• Shade and seating improvements
• Better youth spaces
• Better wayfinding and signage
• Improved accessibility
• More places for community gathering
• Recreation options for adults and teens
• Better lighting in some locations
• Enhanced trail connections and park entrances

Individual park insights

Residents also shared detailed feedback about each park in the network.

Residents noted that Arnold Park can be difficult to access, has aging play equipment, and feels somewhat "hidden" from view. Respondents also noted their appreciation for the existing shade and open space.

Residents value Ash Park as a peaceful neighbourhood green space, but also raised concerns about visibility, aging play equipment, and trail conditions.

Guelph Park emerged as the active recreation hub of Lancaster West. Participants identified the skating rink, courts, basketball facilities, pathways, dog walking, and playground usage as key attractions. Residents identified opportunities to improve the hybrid court, skating rink, playground, lighting and overall safety. Participants would also like to see more pedestrian connections to Woodside National Historic Site and Springwood Park.

Hillside Park is a well-loved winter destination, with more than half of all comments about the park mentioning tobogganing. Residents also identified playground renewal, more opportunities for older children, improvements to the baseball diamond, and better lighting as priorities.

Lips Park was identified as having the least shade of any park in the network. Residents appreciated the playground and the opportunities it provides for older children, but identified a need for more shade, seating, and dog waste containers.

Next steps

The next phase in the Lancaster West Park Network Improvements project is to develop up to two draft design concepts for each park. These concepts will explore ways to build on existing strengths, address community needs, and improve how the parks function together as a connected network. Residents will have another opportunity to review the concepts and provide feedback before a preferred design direction is selected.