Centre For Local Research into Public Space (CELOS)
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For the cover page of this folder go to the benches and picnic tables
June 7, 2023, from Parks supervisor Jonathan Larkin
At Dufferin Grove Park, the square bench around the tree had deteriorated to the point that it is no longer safe for the public to use. Therefore, the bench was removed. Parks is no longer replacing the benches around the trees, as forestry will not allow the install of benches that close to trees anymore.
Near the wading pool, I had Parks staff remove the old style park bench. I have submitted a request to Tech Services to install a new backed bench near the wading pool.
June 13, 2023, to Jonathan
Hi Jonathan, after I ran into you at the park this morning, and you asked how many benches/tables were wanted, I talked to two park friends who regularly use the sandpit, and asked them about the benches/tables. I've cc'd them here. I've also copied the Dufferin Grove market manager. They may have additional comments.
This morning there were no tables or benches at the sandpit or wading pool area, and only one (new extra-long) picnic table by the cob kitchen.
The sandpit needs at least two picnic tables, plus two more near the wading pool, and six (can be chained together) in two attached rows at the bake oven/cob kitchen. Those will provide a market users' area on Thursdays and an oven area for food events.
Plus the wading pool needs four benches for parents/caregivers tol watch their kids PLUS one more that the WP staff will be sitting on in July/Aug.
This request is based on the existing use of a very popular, shady area and two PFR programme areas. I hope it answers your question.
June 19, 2023, from Jonathan
Thank you for your email. This year, Parks staff have delivered 4 picnic tables to Dufferin Grove Park. Currently, I do not have any more picnic tables to allocate to this park as there needs to be equitable allocation of picnic tables to other parks located in Ward 9. Please note, I have submitted a work order to Tech Services to have a replacement bench installed near the wading pool.
June 19, 2023, to Jonathan
Thanks for your reply, noting the limit of four new picnic tables and one new bench for Dufferin Grove park in the interest of equitable allocation in relation to other parks.
Yes, I noticed that there are still very few tables in the drop-in program locations. Considering that the city is spending about $8 million plus on the NW corner reno, which was not requested by the community, it's remarkable that there is such a shortage of funds available for picnic tables and benches -- which park users have asked for quite consistently.
The problem of missing places to sit is longstanding, which was the reason why we raised funds for the sitting area by the big oven in 2015. Would you and your colleagues agree that it's time to fundraise again for benches and tables for other park program areas?
June 21, 2023, email to dufferingrovefriends listserv
If Dufferin Grove is only allowed four replacement picnic tables and one bench (according to the park supervisor's email), is it time to look for a private foundation like the one that funded the sitting area by the big bake oven in 2015?
That whole setup only cost $21,000, and it's been very well-used.
June 28, 2023
Hi Jonathan and Grant (assuming this is a tech services issue):
It was recently necessary for rec staff to get into the wading pool pit to turn on the cob water supply for an event. At that time I saw that the hydraulic system (to prevent the heavy pit cover from falling on somebody's hand) is still not functioning. Last summer the WP staff used a little wooden shim in case the lid fell -- but can the system not be fixed?
I assume that the WP is on the list to be changed to a splash pad, but until then it would be good to maintain what's there. I have copied the Aquatics head here in case it's up to them to make the hydraulics request.
I hope this is helpful.
June 28, 2023
Hi Jonathan, I had no response from you or your colleagues after my email of June 19 so maybe we need to start over. This is an email summarizing four specific emails that will follow.
Issues at the park are: - the city's removal of benches and picnic tables from the main summer program areas - missing safety-related sandpit and playground sand maintenance - safety-related wading pool maintenance, e.g. the broken hydraulics in the mechanical pit - cob kitchen maintenance issues that need a follow-up meeting with tech services
Would a site meeting this week be a good step, to be in time for summer programming? Or could you propose an alternative?
June 28, 2023
From: Jutta Mason [juttamason@gmail.com] Sent: June 28, 2023 12:49 PM To: Jonathan Larkin <Jonathan.Larkin@toronto.ca> Cc: Grant Drygas <Grant.Drygas@toronto.ca>; Erella Ganon <wow@erella.com>; Dufferin Grove Park <dufferingrovefriends@googlegroups.com>; Councillor Bravo <Councillor_Bravo@toronto.ca>; Jessica Shepherd <shepherd.jessica@gmail.com>; Anthony Delaurentis <Anthony.Delaurentis@toronto.ca>; Birko Montinat <Birko.Montinat@toronto.ca>; nathalie.velez@icloud.com Subject: [External Sender] community fundraising needed to buy benches and picnic tables for Dufferin Grove?
Hi again Jonathan,
This morning there is not a single bench or picnic table at the sandpit adventure playground area nor by the wading pool nor in the bake oven area. The closest and only place to sit is one picnic table beside the nearby volleyball court.
Your June 19 email said there needs to be equitable allocation of picnic tables to other parks located in Ward 9
According to your calculation, that limits Dufferin Grove to four replacement picnic tables and one replacement bench. The problem is that the low-cost program additions currently unique to Dufferin Grove in Ward 9 -- the sandpit adventure playground and the bake oven -- attract many other city camps to this park. The unusual amount of shade in the whole Dufferin Grove play area attracts even more people. Families and camp kids using the oven need a place to eat their food. Parents and caregivers need a place to sit, by both the sandpit and the wading pool, while their kids are busy playing.
If the restriction you mention is firm, I think a major community fundraising campaign to replace the many missing places to sit (see the 2012 map attached) is urgent. Should this begin?
I will forward this email up the PFR hierarchy as well, assuming that the restriction on park benches/tables did not originate with you.
June 30, 2023, from Jonathan
Hello Jutta,
I have already submitted a work order to Tech Services to have this issue rectified. I will follow up with Tech Services and request an update as to when this issue will be addressed. Once I receive a response I will provide you with an update.
June 30, 2023
Thanks Jonathan. The wading pool opened today. The two young staff are sitting rather forlorn on their metal supplies bin, since there is not a single bench at the WP now. Is that lack going to be remedied as well? Also will there be places to sit for parents/caregivers who are watching their charges?
July 3, 2023
On Jul 3, 2023, at 4:32 PM, Jonathan Larkin <Jonathan.Larkin@toronto.ca> wrote:
For Dufferin Grove Park, I will inquire with Tech Services to see if additional picnic tables can be provided.
Thanks,
Jonathan Larkin
Supervisor Parks
Toronto & East York District
July 4, 2024
I have submitted a work order to Tech Services to have two replacement backed benches installed near the wading pool. I will follow up with Tech Services as to when the benches can be installed.
July 5, 2023, Erella Gagnon on her dufferingrovefriends listserv
On Wed, Jul 5, 2023 at 6:55 PM Erella <wow@erella.com> wrote:
Hi all,
I don’t like the idea of fundraising for what we need in our park, especially since millions of $dollars are being spent in our park to consultants, construction and whatever for the many year long renovation of the North west corner of the park. It would make a difficult tempest in a teapot if the media grabbed this and ran with it.
Park furniture (that we had the required amount of) seems like a low cost solution to big problems.
I happened to meet a man named Martin Sampson last week.
I was having a conversation with friends about the picnic table and benches that are needed at our park and noticed he seemed interested and was listening attentively.
He made it clear that he couldn’t officially make any comments because his organization is federal and this isn’t.
He and I talked at length about how many problems would be alleviated if our park could get the park benches and picnic tables we need.
He suggested we find out who made the decision that toronto parks need parity (even though the dufferin grove park is unlike others).
Perhaps if we find that out we could appeal to that person or department.
I thought that was a good idea.
Does anyone know who decided that?
Where did this come from?
I later googled to find out he is the CEO of this federal organization.
Thought it was interesting. His suggestion to follow along is a good one.
The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is a national organization dedicated to realizing the full potential of parks and recreation as a major contributor to community health and vibrancy.
July 5, 2023
From: Jutta Mason <juttamason@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Jul 5, 2023 at 10:09 PM Subject: Re: community fundraising needed to buy benches and picnic tables for Dufferin Grove? To: Erella <wow@erella.com>, Dufferin Grove Park <dufferingrovefriends@googlegroups.com> Cc: Jonathan Larkin <Jonathan.Larkin@toronto.ca>, Grant Drygas <Grant.Drygas@toronto.ca>, Councillor Bravo <Councillor_Bravo@toronto.ca>, Jessica Shepherd <shepherd.jessica@gmail.com>, Anthony Delaurentis <Anthony.Delaurentis@toronto.ca>, Birko Montinat <Birko.Montinat@toronto.ca>, nathalie.velez@icloud.com <nathalie.velez@icloud.com>, Cheryl MacDonald <Cheryl.MacDonald@toronto.ca>, Peter (Park) White <Peter.White@toronto.ca>
About why there is a shortage of benches and picnic tables: one odd thing is that in last week's 2022 financial "variance" reports at the Executive Committee, Parks and Rec is listed as underspending their budget by about $10 million (screenshot attached).
So the funds for benches and tables were there, but somebody chose not to spend them.
I think this is a good summer for park users to talk to each other at the park, not in meetings yet, but in the day to day, as things come up. And as the guy from the CPRA said to Erella, it's helpful to look behind the decisions and see who made them. I've c'd Cheryl Madonald, the manager of Rec for West Toronto (us), and Peter White, the manager of Parks for Toronto and East York, on this email.
Maybe they could explain why they didn't use those funds?
July 6, 2023
On Thu, Jul 6, 2023 at 1:18 PM Peter (Park) White <Peter.White@toronto.ca> wrote:
We expect to add some new tables to the park tomorrow.
Jul 11, 2023
So there are now six new tables in two long rows, near the playground, plus another four nearby. All are full much of the time (PFR and other summer camps weekdays, families all weekend). A pleasure to see, thank you.
That leaves the problem of the lack of benches at the wading pool and the sandpit area. If there are no castoff benches like your staff used to find for this park in the old days, here are two possible trees, already stripped of their branches, that Forestry could cut into six-foot logs and move to the wading pool/sandpit area for people to sit on:
1. just north of the playground DGBareTrunkJuly11_2023.jpg
2. Just south of the wading pool (has a couple of leafy branches left, but not much): DGMostlyBareTrunkJuly11_2023.jpg
Since the trees are already at the park, there should be no paperwork with the MOE, am I right?
What's the chance?
Jutta
> On Jul 11, 2023, at 6:16 PM, Jutta Mason <juttamason@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi Eric, > thanks for your quick reply. As you see, I emailed the supervisors and am hopeful that they'll respond to my question. > > The job of wading pool attendants has undergone a number of changes over the thirty years during which I've been involved with Dufferin Grove and other parks. I'm glad that some rules that were disadvantageous to wading pool users, especially those having to do with the chlorine protocols, have been made a bit more workable lately. > > But here's my second question: there are no benches around the Dufferin Grove wading pool this year. I haven't had a chance to check the situation at nearby Campbell or Christie Pits wading pools, but this missing park furniture is a pretty big problem for parents and caregivers. Are you working on a remedy?
On Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 6:55 PM Eric To <Eric.To@toronto.ca> wrote:
Thanks for your email. Aquatics manages the staffing, programming and management of the wading pool infrastructure. I’m going to defer to Parks for comment on the benches as that falls under parks assets.
I see that you’ve copied Grant and Jonathan on this email who can better inform your query.
Eric To A/ Manager, Community Recreation T: 416-993-4416 E: eric.to@toronto.ca
July 11, 2023, to Eric To
I believe that part of programming is making the program work for people who use the wading pool, so to my mind, at any rate, the absence of benches to sit is rightfully a matter for the aquatics staff who "own" the wading pools. Twenty years ago the rec and aquatics and parks staffing was far more integrated and nobody working at Dufferin Grove would have thought it was okay, or not their problem, for people not to have places to sit at the wading pool.
Silos are tricky, and I understand that it's important for staff in the different sections to be on the same page and minimize criticisms of each other -- to a point. Outsiders, busybodies like me, may have to get involved.
From talking to others, I have collected a few ideas about benches and will send them to Parks and elsewhere, and copy Aquatics, and see if any of them prove workable for now.