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2004 Spring Parks Maintenance Plan |
(by: Parks & Recreation, City of Toronto, May 2004)
 Long Grass: Looks like it hasn't been cut yet
All parks have been cut at least once and maybe in some areas of the city more. This year the wet weather prevented us from executing an early cut schedule in April. The grass and the ground was too wet to send in equipment - -the equipment would tear up the turf and destroy the park. We were delayed in some areas by two weeks from entering. When the weather was warm and dry we started our cutting but were held off during the smog alert days which happened to fall on a Thursday
and a Friday — pushing the delay between cuttings back by a further four days. Following smog alert days we did have further rain that preventing our cutting schedule.
What is the cutting schedule for Parks?
We revised our schedule to increase our cuts in the spring and less in the fall. We plan to cut every 7 to 10 days across the city from end of April to mid August. Due to rain we are actually cutting at 10 to 14 day cycle. We are hoping by early next to get back on schedule.
Why do you not clean up the grass clippings?
Toronto Parks do not rake up clippings because the clippings are good for the turf. They provide moisture and nutrients for the grass.
Dandelions - Spring back up after cuttings:
Dandelions sometimes make our parks look like they have not be cut because some of them will spring back up right after a cutting. They are a springy pest that will hide from the lawnmower. We will be bringing a report to Economic Development and Parks Committee on a five year plan to implement an Integrated Pest Management and Turf Restoration Plan with related budget implications in July. In order to avoid dandelions an aggressive turf management plan needs to be implemented.
We attempted to implement an earlier grass cut this spring but due to the wet conditions were unable to commence as planned — this earlier cut would help reduce the dandelions.
Floral Plantings:
Our greenhouses are being emptied. The plantings commenced in some areas the last week of May — we are very busy this week and next right across the City. University Avenue and our key landmark parks were started yesterday.
Litter in the Parks - clean up schedules:
Litter in our parks is a major impediments to our turf management. If crews have to spend most of their time cleaning a park versus cutting a park — our schedule is impacted. Forty percent of the waste in our parks is household waste and we need to encourage the public to help us keep it clean — the cleaner the park the faster we can get to our turf management. As approved in the budget process we are in the process of hiring our 12 bylaw enforcers / Park Rangers to
ticket individuals who drop garbage bags in our parks or construction litter or discarded furniture. We will inform you when they are in place and our plans for them being very visible in our parks. Further to our clean campaign new garbage bins have been ordered and our colleagues in Works have told us that they have secured recycling bins for our parks as well. Works will be letting us know the details of when the recycling bins will be in place.
Park Inspections:
Our Parks staff are very committed to meeting the expectations of the public and do have a great deal of pride in their work. Our resources are limited since we have had to undertake to do more with less and to meet the corporate financial obligations such as hiring freezes and gapping targets. Nonetheless, the parks team is reviewing their practices and exploring new ideas to improve the quality of our parks. We are doing the best we can with the resource available. Please
understand the staff are visiting and inspecting the parks for deficiencies and attempt within our limited resources to address the problems nonetheless not all problems can be solved immediately.
What happens on Smog Alert Days?
All of our crews cannot operate any equipment — therefore the grass cannot be cut nor can we trim any trees. We find alternative work for our crews. This can move the 7 day cycle to the 10 day cycle.
Parks & Recreation
City of Toronto
May 2004
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