Residents in a neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end along with a local councillor are speaking out, demanding something be done to make a flood-prone park more usable during nearby construction work.
On a recent sunny day, Fairbank Memorial Park, near Dufferin Street and Vaughan Road, sat empty. Its playground was filled with water-filled craters, barriers that have been turned over, and garbage.
Even in areas where there is no visible flooding, the ground was extremely uneven and soft, sinking down with every step.
Storm sewer project nearby
The green space in the Oakwood Village neighbourhood is located downhill from a major construction project replacing the storm sewer drainage system in the area.
The Fairbank Silverthorn Storm Trunk Sewer System Project is a multimillion-dollar effort to curb the ongoing problem of basement flooding for thousands of area residents. The work is expected to wrap up in 2027.
People who live near the park, however, say flooding has been constant there since the project began in 2021.
“When it rains, the water smells so bad, so bad,” resident Isabelle Matudeus told CTV News Toronto.
‘Our stands need to go up’: Matlow
Local Coun. Josh Matlow is speaking out, saying he’s “making a very clear call to the city that our standards need to go up.”
In a letter recently sent to the head of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, the Toronto-St. Paul’s representative called out the problematic conditions at the park.
Matlow wants the City of Toronto to find immediate ways to make Fairbank Memorial Park more user-friendly during the construction work.
“The irony is that while the city’s worked on a sewer project to mitigate basement flooding, they haven’t done anything about the flooding in the kids’ playground in the neighbourhood,” he said.
“I think that’s just not acceptable for our kids.”
City aware of concerns, working to address them
In a statement, the City of Toronto said it is aware of residents’ concerns about flooding at Fairbank Memorial Park.
“City of Toronto staff have removed all pylons and barriers and will be reviewing this park, amongst others, as part of its capital plan process,” it said.
Matlow, however, said that’s not enough.
“The city has said that they are going to budget for 2027 once the sewer project is completed, to make fixes to the playground,” he said.
“What we are arguing for is for them to do something temporary, right now.”
