A pilot project that allowed people to drink alcohol in some Toronto parks could soon be made permanent.

On Thursday, the City of Toronto’s Economic and Community Development Committee will consider and vote on a staff report on whether to permit those age 19 and older to consume alcohol in select green spaces across the city.

City council must then give its final approval at its April meeting.

The Alcohol in Parks Pilot Program, which was approved by city council last summer, ran from August 2 to Oct. 9 in 27 parks in 13 wards.

City staff, in a 14-page report that included the findings of survey on the pilot program, found that overall it was a success with only minimal increases in 311 requests for noise, garbage or other issues from the parks involved.

A survey also found a strong majority of residents support allowing alcohol in parks with a “high level of satisfaction among park visitors, few issues arising, and minimal operational impacts.”

It also noted that 92 per cent of those surveyed who visited a pilot park were satisfied during their visit, while 90 per cent felt safe. About 80 percent of those surveyed said people who chose to drink at the park were “considerate.”

City staff is recommending that alcohol be permanently allowed in the 27 parks included in the pilot and that the program be expanded to include at least one park per ward.

Last summer none of the participating parks were located in Etobicoke and only a handful were in North York.

Toronto-Danforth Coun. Paula Fletcher, who had five parks in her ward in the pilot, said that overall she feels the pilot program was a success and should be made permanent.

“The sky didn't fall. Everybody thought, ‘Oh, there'll be big parties. There'll be raves. There'll be keggers, everything will be going on in those parks.’ Didn't happen,” she told CP24 on Thursday morning.

Eligible parks must have permanent or temporary washrooms as well as seasonal drinking water onsite. They must be at least 1.5 hectares and not adjacent to schools, if park is smaller than 3.0 hectares, and cannot be located on the waterfront.

They must also have the local councillor's approval and written confirmation.

Alcohol cannot be consumed at outdoor swimming pools and decks or within two metres around playgrounds, wading pools, splash pads, skateboard parks, BMX parks, and artificial and natural ice rinks.

Speaking with CP24, Fletcher said that she has been “pleasantly surprised” by the results of the survey and the support for the initiative so far.

“So I think that's really telling that this is kind of long overdue. Everyone in there said everyone was considerate with their drinking. Everybody was in the park felt safe,” she said.

“So in this pilot, there was nothing. There just was no problem. It was very chill. It was great. … And I think coming out of the pandemic, people realized let's just get together and we can have a beer in the park and they did that. So it's fairly normal behavior now.”

For a full list of the parks included in the initial pilot follow this link.

With files from CP24's Bryann Aguilar.