Grange Park (Toronto)

Grange Park is a prominent and well-used public park in downtown Toronto, located directly behind the Art Gallery of Ontario, beside the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), and in front of the University Settlement.

Features

Grange Park features a wading pool, children's playground, and numerous trees and walkways. Historically, it was the backyard of "The Grange" that eventually was expanded and became the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Wading pool

The wading pool was originally open 10am to 5:30pm, but, due to records of bather load, it was determined that there was very little usage in the morning, and more in the evening, so the hours of operation were changed and are now 12noon to 7:30pm. Because of the slow drain, the drain is usually opened a couple of hours prior to closing, so the water levels are lower toward the end of the time that the pool is open for.

The wading pool features sloped beach style zero-depth entry along some directions, as well as wide curved cement steps along other areas. Recently the large curved cement steps have been dotted with metal spikes and blocks to discourage use by skateboard users. Unfortunately these spikes/blocks create a trip hazard to users of the wading pool.

Land title and management

Grange Park is officially owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario, but is run by the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation.

Current issues and debates

One of the current issues and debates is whether to open up the fence between Grange Park and the adjoining Butterfield Park (the park under the OCAD "floating building") into one large contiguous park. This would improve access to Grange Park by OCAD students, but would also increase traffic through the children's playground area.

Groups and socieities affiliated with Grange Park

*Grange Park Working Group (headed up by the City of Toronto)
*Grange Park Preservation Group (GPPG)

External links

* [http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/parks/ City of Toronto: Parks and Recreation Homepage]