PRESS RELEASES
TORONTO, ON, January 18th, 2023, 12:00pm - St. Mark's Hill Safety launches Warren Park's Urban Planning Design Challenge, opening registration to Toronto University, High School, and Elementary Students.
Design Challenge Timeline:
Registration Opens
Wednesday, January 18th, 2023
Design Challenge Site Walk
Sunday, January 29th, 2023 - hosted during Warren Park’s community WINTER(safety)FEST
Registration closes
Wednesday, February 15th, 2023
Submissions due
Friday, March 31st, 2023
Submissions displayed and top submissions announced at Closing Event
Saturday, April 8th, 2023
This urban planning challenge is an opportunity for Toronto students to engage with an ongoing community and government effort to improve a road way that serves as the Warren Park students' walking route for three local elementary schools and one local high school, as well as transit users, patrons to the Baby Point, Bloor West Village, and Junction area businesses, and the community at large. The roadway also serves as:
One of three roadways in the area to access Magwood Park and Etienne Brulé Park, one of the cities major parks and main sites for observing the yearly Salmon run
A well known and used hill for the city's avid cycling community
Hosts the Warren Park Outdoor Education Centre that serves TDSB students board wide
It is also used often by traffic avoiding the Jane St./Dundas St. intersection
All interested students are invited to join the Design Challenge Site Walk on January 29th, 2023 @ 12:00pm at Florence Gell Park as part of the community WINTER(safety)FEST event. At 12:30pm participants will circle the design challenge site, ending at The Lambton House at 2:00pm. This historic York building will be transformed into an Urban Planning Hub where students and community will gather, attend mini-sessions from 2:00-4:00pm and mix and mingle over food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Registration for the design challenge will remain open until Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, after which registration will close. Submissions are due Friday, March 31st, 2023.
Participating local elementary and high schools are invited to register for Ontario Active School Travel's Winter Walk Day 2023, by Green Communities Canada. Schools registered with EcoSchools Canada are encouraged to include Warren Park's Urban Design Challenge, participation in WINTER(safety)FEST and their registration to Winter Walk Day into their recorded actions for EcoSchools Canada's Low Carbon Commuting Goals.
Registration to Warren Park's Urban Planning Design Challenge
Free with registration.
Registration Opens January 18th at 12:00 pm 2023 and closes Feb. 15th at 12:00pm 2023.
Submissions are due on March 31st, 2023.
About Warren Park's Urban Planning Design Challenge
Full project details, submission guidelines and criteria can be found at warrenpark.ca/2023updc. The Challenge is open to all University, High School, and Elementary students. Students will be asked to consider snow and rain, animal crossings, population growth, ecological preservation, and school access to develop a successful solution. The unique geography and history of the area provides opportunities for students to engage with and explore solutions unique to this local Toronto location, yet invites them to draw inspiration from successful projects globally.
Registrants will receive a Project Package via email on Feb. 15th, 2023. Submissions are due before 12:00 pm on March 31st, 2023. Top submissions in each category will be announced on April 8th, 2023.
Admission to WINTER(safety)FEST - Toronto
Free with registration
Times:
Outdoor Family Friendly Fun 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Design Challenge Site Walk 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Urban Planning Hub 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
To register for WINTER(safety)FEST and get more details, please visit the website warrenpark.ca/winterfest or call 647 409 3670
About WINTER(safety)FEST
Full event details can be found at warrenpark.ca/winterfest.
On Jan. 29th, 2023 @12:00pm St. Mark's Hill Safety will be hosting the Warren Park community's first WINTER(safety)FEST, a fun, family-friendly community winter event that engages the broader Urban Planning academic and student community along with local government and city staff through the Urban Planning Design Challenge which invites university, high school, and elementary students across the city to engage in designing a solution for a roadway where students are vulnerable to vehicles sliding from the road onto the sidewalk.
WINTER(safety)FEST will kick off at Florence Gell Park with family-friendly winter activities from 12:00-2:00pm. This is the starting point of the Urban Planning Design Challenge Site Walk, which will leave the park at 12:30pm to walk St. Mark's Hill, the site of the design challenge. The walk will end at The Lambton House at 2:00 pm, which will be transformed into an Urban Planning Hub where students and community will gather, attend mini-sessions from 2:00-4:00 pm and mix and mingle.
About St. Mark's Hill Safety Group
St. Mark's Hill Safety is a community group of Warren Park residents working to advocate for greater pedestrian and cyclist safety on St. Mark's Hill with local councilor Gord Perks and City of Toronto staff.
The group's priority is temporary pedestrian safety measures to be installed on St. Mark's Hill immediately as part of a longer-term road works project that will consider permanent safety features for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles across all seasons on the hill.
St. Mark's Hill Safety Group was created in response to an accident on February 2nd, 2022. The event involved six cars mounted on the sidewalk 20 minutes before children walked to school along that route. The curb height, sidewalk width, ravine railing, and hill's steep incline contribute to the dangerous and sub-par safety conditions on this stretch of hill, reducing access to and from schools, Etienne Brûlé Park, and local and global businesses, and for transit users.
The roadway is locally referred to as St. Mark's Hill.
About Ontario Active School Travel and Winter Walk Day 2023
Ontario Active School Travel is an Ontario-wide program dedicated to children's mobility, health and happiness. It is delivered by Green Communities Canada.
Winter Walk Day (WWD) is an annual celebration of winter walking that takes place on the first Wednesday of February. Schools across Ontario will celebrate WWD with special events on Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, or throughout the month.
About EcoSchools Canada
EcoSchools Canada offers a certification program for elementary through secondary schools that nurtures environmental learning and climate action. Our award-winning, curriculum-linked framework supports school communities as they assess, track, benchmark, and celebrate environmental excellence. We are the exclusive national operator of the EcoSchools program in Canada, and a member of the international network of EcoSchools programs, coordinated by the Foundation for Environmental Education.
About Green Communities Canada
Green Communities Canada is a national non-profit that supports grassroots-led climate action through leadership, connection, training, and funding.
About The Lambton House
Lambton House is a historic former inn in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the last remaining building from the former village of Lambton Mills along the Humber River. The inn was established in 1847, with its present building erected in 1860.
