Frequently asked questions

Parks Canada is pleased to announce the launch of public engagement on conceptual designs for the Rouge National Urban Park’s flagship visitor, learning and community centre.

Three concepts are being presented for public input on various architectural, landscaping, and visitor experience elements. All concepts were developed in close collaboration with Indigenous partners from the Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle (FNAC), key stakeholders including the Friends of Rouge National Urban Park and Waterfront Regeneration Trust, as well as local farmers.

The concepts are guided by a commitment to sustainable, accessible and inclusive design. The Rouge National Urban Park visitor, learning and community centre will be net-zero carbon, in alignment with the Greening Government Strategy commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It will exceed municipal, provincial and federal accessibility and inclusivity standards and guidelines wherever possible, and a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) lens will be applied throughout the project design.

See timeline here.

The project team includes:

• Parks Canada
• Design consultants for architecture, landscape, engineering, visitor experience and public engagement
• Key partners and stakeholders, including
  • Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle
  • Park farmers
  • Community leaders who helped protect the Rouge and ensure it became a national park, including the Friends of Rouge Urban National Park and the Waterfront Regeneration Trust
  • Design consultants. After a rigorous, competitive and open process, the chosen project consulting team includes:
    o Architecture and Landscape: Moriyama & Teshima Architects in partnership with Two Row Architect and Studio Ian Gray  
    o Visitor Experience: Cadabra and Daily tous les jours
    o Public Engagement: PROCESS
• You! Your feedback is essential to the success of this project.

The Rouge National Urban Park visitor, learning and community centre is scheduled to open to the public in fall 2025. While Parks Canada makes every effort to minimize disruptions, dates are tentative and construction schedules are subject to change.

The public engagement period ran for an eight-week period through late summer 2021. 

• Learn more about the engagement process
• Subscribe for notifications about engagement events, activities and project updates 

Parks Canada is committed to a diverse and inclusive public engagement process. Input from public engagement will be used to shape the design of the Rouge National Urban Park Visitor, learning and community centre including both architectural and visitor experience components. The goals of the public engagement process are:

• To obtain the best possible feedback from the community and members of the public including both current, and future visitors
• To gather input from the public on aspects of the site plan and building.
• Gather feedback on what visitors would like to do or experience at the site.
• To continue to solidify and grow our relationships with the community and various organizations with interests in the Park.
• To provide a platform for addressing and taking into consideration diverse perspectives and to ensure that these perspectives are considered
• To demonstrate transparency and accountability throughout the project
• To generation excitement and enthusiasm among current and future visitors!

Estimated project timelines are outlined here. While Parks Canada makes every effort to minimize disruptions, timelines may change and construction is weather dependent.

The site is a former Toronto Zoo overflow parking lot (Lot 4), located east of Meadowvale Road and south of Zoo Road. It was selected after an intensive study of many potential sites. An agreement was announced in summer 2019 wherein the Toronto Zoo generously agreed to transfer the land to Parks Canada.

Parks Canada has a rigorous development review and environmental impact assessment process that ensures all development proposals mitigate environmental impacts and protect the ecological integrity of the park.

The site will feature a holistic site interpretation plan with immersive installations that invite visitors to engage with the stories of the Rouge and the layers of stewardship that have shaped it since time immemorial. Parks Canada is working with a talented experiential design team to craft a series of unique, transformative and surprising experiences that reflect the essence of the park.

Public engagement helped to inform and shape these visitor experiences.

No entrance fees will be charged to enter the facility. Parking, events and enhanced programming, facilitated in part or in full by external stakeholders, may have associated attendance fees.

The site will be closed during construction. Closures and re-openings will be clearly communicated on-site, on the park website and through our social media channels. Safety is our top priority.

As part of the work to create Rouge National Urban Park, Parks Canada has undertaken extensive studies on visitor use and needs, including determining that there was a baseline annual attendance of approximately 500,000 visitors in 2014/2015.

Parks Canada is working on improving its attendance modelling – including the use of trail counters and parking lot monitoring – in Rouge National Urban Park and will be able to provide a more accurate estimation of visitation numbers for the Rouge National Urban Park visitor, learning and community centre later in 2021.

The historic Pearse House is home to the Rouge Valley Conservation Centre, operated by the Rouge Valley Foundation. Pearse House is located outside of the project footprint and its scope of work. Parks Canada is committed to protecting this important resource and working with the Rouge Valley Foundation to mitigate any impacts construction may have on programming.

ZooShare is an innovative project that turns animal waste from the Toronto Zoo and inedible food waste into renewable power for the Ontario grid. A by-product of this process is fertilizer, which can help to grow local food.

The design of the Rouge National Urban Park visitor, community and learning centre includes architectural and landscape design elements that separate the two sites in innovative and aesthetically pleasing ways.

Parks Canada is committed to ensuring that the ZooShare biogas facility continues to contribute to climate change action and sustainable energy while ensuring exceptional visitor experience to visitors to Rouge National Urban Park.

Parks Canada has a rigorous development review and environmental assessment process that ensures all development proposals mitigate environmental impacts and protect the ecological integrity of the park.

Investing in new visitor infrastructure is necessary to manage the impacts of visitation. Thoughtful infrastructure projects protect ecological integrity while providing high-quality and meaningful experiences to visitors.

Design on the site will mitigate potential risks including stormwater runoff and potential future erosion as well as encroachment of any invasive species as a result of site disturbance during construction.