WINTER(safety)FEST is bringing a new twist to winter events in Toronto's west end.

This is a family-friendly community winter event that engages the broader Urban Planning academic and student community, along with local government and city staff, through an 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 led by outdoor educators from 12:00-2:00pm. This is also 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 over food and drink.

The mini-sessions will be led by professional in their field and include a history of Warren Park's urban development, current and future city of Toronto trends, as well as engaging session on outdoor winter skills.

For further info please visit:

WINTER(safety)FEST's website:

https://www.warrenpark.ca/winterfest

WP's Urban Planning Design Challenge Event Page: https://www.warrenpark.ca/2023updc

Design Challenge Registration:

https://tinyurl.com/2p94mb4f

Why are we running WINTER(safety)FEST instead of just WINTERFEST this year?

Toronto's Warren Park community is gathering support for pedestrian safety improvements to the collector roadway, St. Mark's Hill, with sub-par conditions that leave pedestrians vulnerable to vehicles that slide onto the sidewalk, not an uncommon event in weather that hovers around freezing or less. This is particularly concerning to our morning walkers, in particular, young students.

Our group has been inspired to bring together local residents, schools, local + global businesses and organizations for an event, WINTER(safety)FEST, focused on outdoor winter fun and safety along with urban planning - a positive and inclusive way to promote awareness of the issue and encourage civic engagement: Something our city desperately needs if we hope to tackle the incredible housing, environmental, infrastructure and economic challenges ahead!

We'll see you on the 29th!