This cache is part of a series highlighting some of the great parks in and around the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto. This area is well-known citywide for its public spaces, but most visitors gravitate to one of a handful of parks near the lake. The goal of this series is to introduce visitors to some of the other beautiful green spaces in the “Greater Beaches Area.”
Jeff Sloan Community Parkette is better known in the Beaches area as “alley park” or “the secret park,” and for good reason — it’s nearly invisible from the nearby street, and few casual passersby would even bother to look for a park in its location.
A small park consisting of a playground and small green space, Jeff Sloan Community Parkette is one of a handful of laneway parks that exist across the city of Toronto. Their locations allow local users to curate the spaces in ways that would not be possible elsewhere — witness, for example, the wide array of sand toys and other goodies spread throughout the playground area. If you’re lucky, you’ll also catch a glimpse of the park’s resident woodpecker, who plies his trade on the trees along the Kingston Road side. And speaking of trees, don’t forget to say hello to the small grove of mature ash trees near the GZ; the invasive Emerald Ash Borer has been decimating Toronto’s ash tree population, but these trees have so far escaped death.
Jeff Sloan was a local resident who was active in the community and played a significant hand in creating this parkette. More details about him are available here.