Toronto City Council has voted to change the ban on sledding on 45 hills

Toronto will reinstate a ban on sledding on 45 hills in city parks, council decided Wednesday.

The council voted 21 to 3 at its meeting on Wednesday. Number. Beaches-East York Rep. Brad Bradford introduced the motion and Mayor Olivia Chow seconded it.

Rep. Mike Colle of Eglinton-Lawrence, Rep. Stephen Holliday of Etobicoke Center and Rep. Gord Perks of Parkdale-High Park voted against the proposal.

The council is directing city staff to remove signs prohibiting sledding on 45 hills and install new signs warning of the service's potential hazards. The new signs will let residents know where to find the special sledding hills that are regularly inspected and maintained by the city.

The council also decided to direct the acting superintendent of parks, forestry and recreation to return haystacks placed on hills where sledding is prohibited.

“We all understand how important this is to our community,” Bradford told the council in its chambers.

“Sometimes, as city council, as elected officials, we have to stand up and really stand up for our communities, even if that puts us in a different position than our staff. That's fine. We're all professionals. We work together,” he added. he is.

“At the end of the day, I want to make sure our communities are places for families to have fun and access the outdoors in a safe and affordable way. This is how we get there.”

Such signs will be removed after the decision of the city council on Wednesday. (CBC)

City staff told council members before the vote that they divided sledding hills into three categories: hills designated for sledding, hills considered gray areas for sledding that have not been inspected or maintained, and hills where sledding is prohibited.

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According to staff, 27 city parks had 29 sledding hills and 45 prohibited hills, along with 57 parks with gray zone hills.

If city staff need to close the sledding hill in an emergency, they can still do so through existing law, Bradford said after proposing an amendment to his adopted proposal.

Number. Toronto-Danforth spokeswoman Paula Fletcher said she appreciates the debate.

“I think we learned a lot and I hope the staff learned a lot,” he said.

The cost of the changes is $13,000, staff said

According to the city's fiscal impact statement, the cost to remove the prohibited hill signs and install new hay bales is $13,000.

The statement said the city has received eight sled accident complaints in the past 10 years.

It further states that changes to the city's sledding program will increase the city's liability for injuries to members of the public who engage in sledding.

“As a result of the variable and unpredictable/unpredictable nature of legal claims, it is difficult to predict the exact volume and costs associated with those claims. However, these claims could cost the City (including settlements and/or judgments, legal costs and fees, payments and interest) in the millions of dollars.” “, the message says.

Council members went into closed session to ask staff questions about municipal liability before making a decision.

In addition to lifting the ban, the council decided to ask the province to work with municipal governments to amend legislation to address municipal liability arising from the use of city property for recreational activities.

The issue comes after city staff failed to post sledding signs on 45 hills, including East Linn Park, a popular park in Danforth in Bradford County. The city said the hills are in danger.

Bradford raised the issue, saying Toronto was becoming a “boring” city. “We don't want to live in a bubble society,” he said at the time.

City staff said in January that designated sledding hills must have a clear path from the top of the slope to the bottom, without any obstacles or hazards such as trees, ditches, trails or fences. Designated rooftops are regularly inspected to ensure safety, the city added.