A Toronto park that has long served as not just a much-needed outdoor public space, but also a well-known shortcut to a TTC subway station, has now been fenced off for more than 1.5 years for construction despite locals seeing little-to-no progress on the site for nearly as long.

Those who live in Englemount-Lawrence have long been trying to draw attention to the failed Baycrest Park Improvement project, which appeared to be delayed indefinitely in fall 2023, only a few months after commencing that April.

The City told blogTO more than 14 months into the work last June that there had been a major dispute with the contractors tasked with revamping the park, which was only the latest in a series of roadblocks, but the most insurmountable by far.

The first worrying update issued in October 2023 stated that "the permit approval process identified significant infrastructure changes required to address storm water management in the park. In addition, construction of the ramp continues to be delayed due to Toronto Hydro assets located near the proposed ramp site."

"The City is working with the contractor and Toronto Hydro to address these issues and resume construction as soon as possible," staff wrote at the time.

The disagreement that followed seemed to be the nail in the coffin for work that was already delayed by many months. And the lack of communication from the City, as well as the continued closure of the property even while no remediation was taking place, only served to make matters worse.

They shouldn't touch this park in the first. They just ruined it and now people can't use this passage as short cut to Yorkdale stn and mall. It's been too long years to complete this damn park! 😡

— sweetpea (@jmav84j8g) June 18, 2024

Community members have continued to reach out to blogTO and post on social media about the dead-in-the-water facelift of their local green space in December, saying that between summer and the end of 2024, no additional progress had been made.

One resident who had only recently moved to the pocket said they were quickly learning a lot about the "chaotic" state of the park, writing that their expectations sadly remain low due to the multiple timeline extensions, and delays of other key infrastructure projects in the City, such as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

They worry that another summer (or even more) will be taken from the community, especially seeing as "the park looks like nothing has been done."

"My understanding is when they closed off the park, they closed it off for one summer, and it was supposed to go through the following summer. So it was supposed to be complete in Summer 2024," said another neighbour who spoke with blogTO on the subject last week.

"I hadn't complained or expressed frustration until it was very clear that the deadline was going to pass, and again, they were nowhere near meeting it. As far as I've seen when I walk in the area, they don't even have construction [going on] there anymore."

Her concern is not just the pause in construction but the fact that the public remains barred from using the space even though things are "in almost the same shape" as of December. She also wonders if certain areas of the city get priority over others, as this debacle has been drawn out so long while similar projects in other parts of the city have started and wrapped up in less time.

"They've not really done anything. When you take something away, and you do nothing to it, then you either commit to redoing it within a period of time, or you fix it back up [as it was], and you open it up," she said.

"It could have easily been fixed up because it's an important thoroughfare to the subway. I don't think that there would be much work to lay down a strip of asphalt so people could walk through it again."

Questioned about Baycrest, a City spokesperson told blogTO that while the contractor stopped work amid the seemingly irreconcilable differences with the City, there are plans to retender the contract this month.

To "minimize disruptions," two smaller contracts within the park have been issued for field lighting installation — which will allow the ball diamond to be operational by spring 2025 — and a ramp for transitgoers to use to better access Yorkdale Station.

"The remaining work will be retendered in January 2025, with construction expected to begin in spring 2025. Further updates will be provided in spring 2025," they added.

The project page on the City's website has also been updated to reflect this, stating that the community will be able to "enjoy the park soon" thanks to these two interim contracts.