Residents support Rail Deck Park: poll
However, 46% disagreed that proposed downtown space should be publicly funded
Many Torontonians are eager to see an innovative new 21-acre park built over the downtown rail corridor even if it costs $1 billion, a new poll says.
But who actually pays for it, well that’s another matter.
A Forum Research survey of 778 Torontonians conducted last week found that 51 per cent support the proposal championed by Mayor John Tory and now being studied by city staff at the direction of council.
The respondents were asked: “Do you approve or disapprove of Mayor Tory’s plan to build a 21-acre park above the railroad tracks downtown, to be called the Rail Deck Park? This park may cost about $1 billion.”
Some 38 per cent disapproved of the proposal, unveiled in August, while 10 per cent had no opinion. However, when asked: “Do you agree or disagree public funds should be spent building this downtown park?” almost half — 46 per cent — disagreed, while 37 per cent support public funding and 17 per cent said they did not know.
The cost to build the park totals at least $1.05 billion if the city decks over the entire span from Bathurst St. to Blue Jays Way. That early estimate does not include the unknown cost of buying air rights over the rail lands.
Tory and the local councillor, Joe Cressy, have touted the idea as a way to inject green space into the park-starved downtown and link it to the waterfront.
Tory called it “the last chance we have to do something bold” while Cressy said it could become Toronto’s version of Central Park.
There is no proposed funding source. Tory said he believes the private sector, including developers, will step up for at least part.
City council last month authorized $2.4 million worth of preliminary studies on a rail deck park that are expected to include scrutiny of a developer’s claim to pre-existing air rights over the corridor.
Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff called the support “a huge vote of confidence in this proposed park, in that voters were given the estimated cost when they were asked for their approval.”
“It is almost impossible to poll any expensive public works positively, but, in this case, there is such a recognized need for green space in the core that approval is high,” Bozinoff said.
The margin of error for the interactive voice response telephone survey is plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Support for the elevated park was highest among younger Torontonians, top earners, bicycle commuters, those who live downtown and those who voted for Tory in the 2014 mayoral election.
Opposition was highest among older Torontonians, those with middle-incomes, Scarborough residents and those who voted for Doug Ford in the 2014 mayoral election.
Forum also asked respondents: “Do you agree or disagree Toronto needs more parkland downtown?”
A strong majority, 65 per cent, agreed, while 22 per cent disagreed and 13 per cent had no opinion. With files from Jennifer Pagliaro