Toronto implements first phase of its High Park car-free plan

The way people access and get around Toronto’s largest public park is changing.

Starting today, the City of Toronto has begun implementing the first phase of its High Park Movement Strategy (HPMS), which aims to “improve safety, accessibility and the park’s natural environment.”

Some of the most notable changes, which will go into effect on Saturday, will include making The West Road and parts of Colborne Lodge Drive, south of Grenadier Café, car-free at all times as well as moving the park’s main vehicle entrance at Parkside Drive and High Park Boulevard. This change means that visitor vehicles will no longer be allowed to enter High Park at Bloor Street West.

Drivers will also now only be allowed to drive in the 400-acre park on weekdays, not including holidays. They will, however, still be able to access High Park at all times for the Children’s Garden, at Colborne Lodge Drive, and the Spring Road parking lot.

Public parking spaces in the park are also being reduced by about 50 per cent. To compensate, designated pick-up/drop-off spaces are being added near main destinations.

Further, new dedicated bike lanes are also being added to Centre Road and Colborne Lodge Drive as well as improved pavement markings and signage to pedestrian crossing areas.

Launched in 2021, the Toronto City Council-approved HPMS is essentially a continuation of the closure of High Park to vehicles on weekends and stat holidays, which began in March 2020.

The strategy, which the city said is “informed by extensive research and analysis, including traffic and parking studies and feedback gathered through a multi-phase engagement process that reached more than 10,000 participants,” is part of a long-term plan to close the entire, 400-acre green space to vehicles.