Here are the 27 Toronto parks that will allow alcohol consumption this summer

After years of discussion, a pilot project has officially been approved by City Council.

Though the practice has gone largely unenforced by Toronto police officers, it’s long been against city by-laws to consume alcohol in public parks.

However, a pilot project is here to change that — in 27 parks, and for a limited time, but still.

Approved by City Council on Wed., July 19, the pilot will run Aug. 2 through Oct. 9, and allow people ages 19 and older to “responsibly consume alcohol in ... city parks that have been confirmed in consultation with local councillors.” The pilot passed with 21 votes for, and just four against.

And the drinking-in-parks pilot is APPROVED by Toronto City Council, 21-4.

Officially starts on August 2. pic.twitter.com/d5WneqqO1s

— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) July 19, 2023

While the initial list released at the end of June contained 20 parks, staff added two more in early July, and councillors Josh Matlow and Diane Saxe presented motions to add five more from their wards on the day council approved the pilot.

Read on for the story of how we got to this point, as well as the list of parks involved in the pilot project. Also check out the map accompanying this article to see where they’re situated in the city.

How did we get to this point?

This is the latest development in a long discussion around drinking in city parks.

In 2019, the Ontario provincial government amended the province’s Liquor Licence Act to allow for drinking in recreational areas, but allowed municipalities to make their own calls on the matter. Premier Doug Ford followed up on the topic during the early days of the pandemic, saying he saw nothing wrong with ‘reasonable’ consumption in parks.

Last year, Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul’s city councillor — and recent mayoral candidate — Josh Matlow proposed a plan to allow alcohol consumption at parks and beaches with public washrooms from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

But council voted 17-2 to defer the matter until 2023, in order to give city staff a chance for further study. At the time, Matlow was not pleased.

“We don’t need lots and lots of these studies to determine what the rest of the world has already discovered, which is that responsible adults act responsibly,” Matlow said.

When the matter was picked back up in May of this year, City Council voted in support of a motion directing staff to develop a pilot program to run this summer and fall, consulting interested councillors on hosting a pilot park in their ward.

Now, Matlow’s ward will host five of the pilot parks — Sir Winston Churchill Park at Spadina Rd. and St. Clair Ave. W. was on the initial list, and four more were added the day the pilot was approved.

Where are the 27 parks that will allow alcohol consumption?

The parks are situated in 13 wards throughout the city. Here’s the list:

• Eglinton Park, Ward 8 - Eglinton-Lawrence
• Earlscourt, Ward 9 - Davenport
• Dufferin Grove Park, Ward 9 - Davenport
• Campbell Avenue Playground and Park, Ward 9 - Davenport
• Dovercourt Park, Ward 9 - Davenport
• Roundhouse Park, Ward 10 - Spadina-Fort York
• Trinity Bellwoods Park, Ward 10 - Spadina-Fort York
• Christie Pits Park, Ward 11 - University-Rosedale
• Queen's Park (110 Wellesley St W), Ward 11 - University-Rosedale
• Sir Winston Churchill Park, Ward 12 - Toronto-St. Paul's
• Oriole Park, Ward 12 - Toronto-St. Paul's
• Hillcrest Park, Ward 12 - Toronto-St. Paul's
• Cedarvale Park, Ward 12 - Toronto-St. Paul's
• June Rowlands Park, Ward 12 - Toronto-St. Paul's
• Corktown Common, Ward 13 - Toronto Centre
• Underpass Park, Ward 13 - Toronto Centre
• Greenwood Park, Ward 14 - Toronto-Danforth
• Riverdale Park East, Ward 14 - Toronto-Danforth
• Withrow Park, Ward 14 - Toronto-Danforth
• Monarch Park, Ward 14 - Toronto-Danforth
• McCleary Park, Ward 14 - Toronto-Danforth
• Skymark Park, Ward 17 - Don Valley North
• Lee Lifeson Art Park, Ward 18 - Willowdale
• East Toronto Athletic Field, Ward 19 - Beaches-East York
• Milliken Park, Ward 23 - Scarborough North
• Morningside Park, Ward 24 - Scarborough-Guildwood
• Neilson Park – Scarborough, Ward 25 - Scarborough-Rouge Park

As you can see above — and on the map accompanying this article — the bulk of the participating parks are located in a small handful of areas in the city. Broken down by ward, the list looks like this:

On Oct. 9, these parks will return to their normal state of disallowing alcohol. There’s also no guarantee of the pilot returning or expanding in the future.

But it should give City Staff some data to pore over, potentially paving the way for a permanent decision. And for the time being, Torontonians of legal drinking age can now enjoy a beer or glass of wine outdoors on a summer day without contravening city by-laws — so long as they’ve chosen the right space.

Further reading

For more info on the Alcohol in Parks Pilot Program, check out the full staff report here.

Share `; Share `;

Code and markup by Chris Dinn. ©Torontoverse, 2023