Birch Cliff Public School playground
Birch Cliff Public School has dodged a bullet after school board trustees rejected a capital plan last night to raise money by selling off sections of school playgrounds to developers.
A confidential short list was published by the Toronto Star this week that identified Birch Cliff PS as one of 127 playgrounds under consideration by the TDSB.
Birch Cliff could have lost 47% of playground
As you can see from the list, the Birch Cliff playground is 7.19 acres and 3.38 acres were considered severable by the board.
The rejection of the plan by a vote of 15-7 has been described as a “stunning decision” and you can read more about it here and here.
It’s interesting that many trustees apparently opposed the severing of playgrounds due to the lack of public consultation.
I read an article about this yesterday and to learn a local school was to be and may yet be affected is brutal. Why do we want to sell off land and jam condos up all around schools? Does the board want to guarentee there is no baseball, soccer, just plain old running around having fun for the kids? Its insane. I do hope this plan is dead, if no I hope community organizers get the word out when public forums(consultations..if they ever happen) happen. Its very short sighted thinking to solve a shortfall this way. Just because the city moto is A City Within A Park doesnt actually mean we have to build small cities in every park/green space/ field.
I’m, sorry but I think the report and public consultation should have gone ahead.
It’s not enough to say, “Not Our School.”
There were 127 properties under consideration. We should take the time to find out what would be viable and what isn’t.
I’m not prepared to fight something – or support it – until all the facts are on the table.
Otherwise it’s just a knee jerk reaction.