Clearing out three large homeless encampments in downtown Toronto parks this summer cost the city at least $840,000 while another $1.15 million was spent remediating the parkland.

Encampments were cleared out over the past few months at Trinity-Bellwoods Park, Alexandra Park and Lamport Stadium Park.

Figures released Friday for the staffing costs show the city spent $416,690 on Trinity-Bellwoods Park; $200,049 on Alexandra Park; and $223,388 on Lamport Stadium Park.

The figures include the costs for city and private security staff such as Toronto Police, fire and paramedic staff, Transportation Services equipment, solid waste management services and other operational costs, such as buses and personal protective equipment.

According to the city, the clearing involved the removal of nearly 75 metric tons of debris across all three sites.

Encampment clearouts lead to violent clashes between police and protesters, with critics accusing the city of traumatizing vulnerable people who are ill-served by a system that does not adequately fund proper housing for all city residents.

The city said the clearouts followed months of engagement with encampment residents to try to get them to accept alternate housing and that it had to clear the encampments because they were unsafe, unhealthy and illegal.

In its release, the city pointed out that Toronto Fire Services responded to 253 encampment fires in 2020, a 250 per cent increase over the previous year.

The city also pointed out that the park space was needed in order to accommodate a range of city services for all residents, such as summer day camps, splash pads and sports fields.

The city said it spent another $792,668 to restore the landscaping in the parks after the encampments had been cleared and $357,000 more on fencing to make sure that people did not tread on the freshly seeded areas.

Altogether, the costs detailed by the city amount to $1,989,795.

In its release, the city said it is spending much more than that to try to better serve the homeless population.

“The city is investing $663.2 million on Homelessness and Housing First solutions in 2021, almost double the amount spent in 2019 at $365.8 million,” the city said in its release. “City staff continue to help people move to safe indoor spaces and out of unsafe, unhealthy and illegal encampments.”

Since the large encampments were cleared out, smaller ones have sprung up at a number of other parks around the city.