Members of the group High Park Access for All held a rally to call for the park to be re-opened to vehicular traffic with ample parking.
Hundreds of people attended a rally to call for the re-opening of High Park to vehicles and for all people seven days a week.
More than 16,000 angry residents have signed an online petition that was sent to City officials to have the massive park reopened for all.
The rally on June 1 was held at the main gate of the park on Bloor Street West.
Last August West Road was closed to traffic and a one-way system from Parkside Drive to Bloor Street West as put into practice and new bike lanes marked out, shutting down 355 of the 566 parking spaces, according to a group calling for change.
Group rally to warn that businesses are losing money and kids cannot play because cars cannot park. The said the park is an empty wasteland.
The group High Park Access to All said visitors to High Park are now unable to park, adding that ugly road bollards were also introduced which destroy the beauty of park for all.
“This has decimated the allotment gardens, Grenadier Café, Childrens Garden, Colborne Lodge, Nature Centre and Zoo patronage,” group members said. “It is now extremely difficult and hazardous for parents to pick up their children from little league games, summer camps and other activities.”
They said physically challenged and the aged are effectively shut out.
Businesses like the iconic Grenadier Cafe and others say they are losing revenue due to a lack of vehicles in the park due to less parking.
Business at the Grenadier Café and other venues have dropped dramatically due to the lack of vehicular traffic, they claim.
“The plan has created a racetrack for the ever-present speed cyclists and generally reduced our beautiful park to an empty wasteland,” High Park Access to All said in a release.
The group said they are not pro-car or anti-cyclist, but believe the park, with all its family venues as adventure playground, High Park little league and sports fields, nature centre, splash pad, playground, allotment gardens, children’s garden, Dog Hill and Zoo, is not the place for a speed racetrack.
Area residents banded together to have the park reopened when it was closed on weekends during the pandemic.