Background
There are 10 existing parks and a range of trails for residents to enjoy in the downtown core. Parks in the Downtown have a variety of features such as an interactive water feature at Celebration Square, a multipurpose ramp park at Mississauga’s Civic Centre and café seating at Scholars’ Green.
The City of Mississauga will expand and improve downtown parks by building two new parks and redeveloping two existing parks. These parks are:
- John “Bud” Cleary Park
- Zonta Meadows
- Future park at M City (Webb Drive and Redmond Road)
- Future park at Kariya Drive and Elm Drive West
Public engagement
To inform this redevelopment work, the City initiated a project to engage the public and gather community input.
Phase one
The City conducted a survey in 2020 and heard a lot of feedback about the downtown parks, with a focus on Zonta Meadows, John “Bud” Cleary Park and the future park at M City. Residents wanted to see additional park amenities, natural features and trails. The feedback gathered informs the park designs.
A summary of feedback from phase one was prepared outlining the key findings and next steps.
Phase two
In July 2022, the City launched phase two of public engagement for Downtown parks. The aim was to update residents, receive input about park design and provide information about the additional fourth park at the corner of Kariya Drive and Elm Drive West.
The online engagement ran for 21 days that summer.
Highlights of the engagement include:
- Over 500 survey submissions received
- Over 2100 visitors to project survey webpage
- Over 23,000 project notices sent by Canada Post
- Over 1,000 individual comments captured through the online survey
A key finding from the survey was that respondents were pleased with the preliminary park designs, as 74% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the overall concept plans.
A summary of online public engagement during phase two is provided for information.
The following summarizes feedback received for each park. Design concepts are provided for each of the parks. Specific elements of the concepts may be subject to change during detailed design.
The planned amenities at John “Bud” Cleary Park include, pickleball-tennis court, leash-free zone, community garden, open green space and cherry trees. The existing soccer filed and pathway will remain.
Survey results:
- 68% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the concept plans
- The top three most popular amenities were cherry trees, community garden and open lawn space
- 61% of respondents preferred Concept 2 (a longer trail area and grouping of sports activities) over Concept 1 (larger leash-free zone and less open space)
This park is now in detail design and targeting construction completion by fall 2024. For a complete list of planned amenities, refer to the preferred park concept.
The planned amenities at Zonta Meadows include, an all wheels facility (for skateboards, bikes, scooters etc.), one and a half basketball courts, two tennis courts, four dedicated pickleball courts, spray pad, updated existing accessible playground, fitness trail, leash free area, community garden, washroom, parking lot, public art area, open green areas, picnic area, cherry trees and the Helen Horn wildflower garden. The existing soccer field (7 versus 7) will remain.
Survey results:
- The three most popular ranked amenities were the fitness trail, cherry blossom grove and community garden
- 80% of respondents preferred more tennis courts over dedicated pickleball courts, as 80% chose Option 2 of the park design (two tennis courts and four pickleball courts) over Option 1 (one tennis court and eight pickleball courts)
- 68% were satisfied or very satisfied with the concept plan
This park is now in detail design and targeting construction completion by spring 2025. For a complete list of planned amenities, refer to the preferred park concept.
The planned future park amenities include, playground, adult fitness zone, spray pad, gathering space, walking track, and planting areas and art area.
Survey results:
- 72% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the concept plan
- The highest ranked amenities were adult fitness zone, spray pad and gathering space
This park is now in detail design and targeting construction completion by fall 2024. For a complete list of planned amenities, refer to the preferred park concept.
The planned future park amenities include, children’s play climbing structure and stand-alone play components, open lawn, leash-free zone, paved activity/walking track, public art installation, shade structure and gathering space, and natural areas.
Survey results:
- 69% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the park design
- The most popular amenities on this plan were the walking track, shade structure and gathering space and play components
This park is now in detail design and targeting construction completion by fall 2023. For a complete list of planned amenities, refer to the preferred park concept.
Project documents
Contact
For more information, please call 311 (905-615-4311 from outside Mississauga) and reference the downtown parks engagement.
