It's official: Drinking alcohol is now legal in 27 Toronto parks

As of today, you can now legally enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two at some Toronto parks. 

Whether or not to allow drinking in all city parks has been an ongoing debate at city council for years. But earlier this year, a new approach was proposed — a pilot program to allow alcohol in certain parks from Aug. 2 to Oct. 9. 

"It's a great initiative," said Coun. Chris Moise, one of the city councillors who proposed the pilot.  "We've had pilot projects across the country, you know, in Montreal, in Calgary, Edmonton, and even Vancouver as well, and those pilots went very well. I anticipate that they will go well here in Toronto."

The pilot was approved by city council on July 19 and allows people aged 19 and older to drink alcohol in 27 city-owned parks. City councillors chose whether or not to opt into the program for their wards and chose which parks to include.

Drinking alcohol is not allowed within two metres of playgrounds and wading pools.

Here are the parks where you can have a drink:

• Campbell Avenue Playground and Park.
• Cedarvale Park.
• Christie Pits Park.
• Corktown Common.
• Dovercourt Park.
• Dufferin Grove Park.
• Earlscourt Park.
• East Toronto Athletic Field.
• Eglinton Park.
• Greenwood Park.
• Hillcrest Park.
• June Rowlands Park.
• Lee Lifeson Art Park.
• McCleary Park.
• Milliken Park.
• Monarch Park.
• Morningside Park.
• Neilson Park – Scarborough.
• Oriole Park.
• Queen's Park.
• Riverdale Park East.
• Roundhouse Park.
• Skymark Park.
• Sir Winston Churchill Park.
• Trinity Bellwoods Park.
• Underpass Park.
• Withrow Park.

Many parkgoers don't expect much to change

Desipte the pilot, many parkgoers told CBC Toronto they've long observed people drinking in parks such as Trinity Bellwoods, and say the prospect doesn't bother them. 

"I lived down the road for a number of years," said Belinda Barratt who was visiting the Trinity Bellwoods with family on Tuesday. "People are clearly drinking. They're not particularly rowdy, they're not abusive, they just seem to be having a good time. I don't honestly think it's going to make any difference."

Jade Verdon, who was also visiting the park Tuesday, agrees.

"I don't know how much it would change," she said. "Maybe it will make people feel a little less stressed, a little less anxious."

But Kurt Behrendt, who lives on a street near Trinity Bellwoods, said he has concerns. 

"To encourage people to come to our park, for all of us who live around here, it's terrible," he said. "It's going to mean that people feel this sort of freedom to misbehave." 

Behrendt said he witnessed a lot of drinking and bad behaviour in and around the park during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, including people urinating in resident's yards.

Parks with washroom access chosen for pilot

In a statement provided to CBC Toronto, the city said "The pilot locations were selected based on a number of criteria including washroom (whether permanent or portable) and drinking water access."

The city also said that additional garbage bins will be added to participating parks on an as needed basis. 

But Coun. James Pasternak shares Behrendt's concerns. 

"It comes with certain risks," he told CBC Toronto. "What do you do in a drinking zone? You continue to drink. So you probably take more than you should to these locations and you consume more than you should and that is the risk." 

The councillor is also concerned the city doesn't have the resources to properly enforce rules around drinking in parks. 

"We don't have the resources for cleanup. We do not have any of the legal tools to detect or identify underage drinking. We don't have the tools to watch intoxication with people who get into a vehicle," Pasternak said. 

The city says the pilot program will be enforced by its bylaw enforcement officers. 

But Pasternak thinks the success of the program will ultimately be based on those who choose to drink in parks.

"We're trusting the individual consumer to be responsible," he said.