The Town of Halton Hills is pleased to lead the design and public consultation process for a new park located at 11134 22 Side Road in Limehouse, Ontario. The 2.3-acre property is situated just south of Limehouse Public School and north of the Limehouse Conservation Area and the Metrolinx railway tracks.

This webpage provides background information about the site, project timelines, design development, and opportunities for community input.

Tolton Park has been many years in the making, and we are now at an exciting stage where staff are inviting residents to help shape the design of your future park!

FIRST ROUND OF CONSULTATION FEEDBACK

We received over 90 responses to the first round of consultation including the online survey, public open house and directly contacting staff.

The feedback was instrumental in determining the feature choices for the preferred concept design.

The themes for the feedback was:

Themes

•Natural design overwhelmingly preferred. Not urban.

•blend the park design with and enhance nature

•limit use of hard surfaces (concrete, asphalt). Limestone screenings overwhelmingly preferred as pathway surfacing

•don’t increase parking

•don’t duplicate what is already at school (type of playground and basketball nets)

•public art is good but needs to be natural and fit with surroundings

•size of gatherings/events for park should be small and neighbourhood focus, compliment nature

•prioritize local neighbourhood input for design

•idea of back to nature, less is more

•like fitness areas along path

•like trail ladder idea and Bruce Trail style trail features

•dislike modern design, doesn’t fit with neighbourhood

•park will be a trailhead destination

•balance amount of mown lawn with natural areas

•pedestrian bridge across railway to conservation area

•portable toilet should be included

•plant native tree species for shade

•don’t allow BBQ, charcoal or propane for safety

•looking forward to seeing this project move forward

Summarized survey results from the first round of consultation can be found in the document library (right side of webpage)

PREFERRED CONCEPT

Feedback from the first round of consultation provided direction to go with a park design that emphasizes natural features and materials, to blend with the surrounding neighbourhood character and natural areas.

The preferred concept design includes a natural style playground with log, rope and rock climbers. Limestone screenings pathways that are lined with trees. A large open lawn area and also generous planted naturalization areas that will be full of native species and pollinator and bird friendly. Fitness equipment is featured along one of the main pathways and the rock escarpment and mature cedar trees of the site are featured along another Bruce Trail style footpath. A picnic shelter is proposed that has a cedar roof over metal structure and stone columns that will use local material to reflect the masonry of the local lime kilns. The existing parking lot will remain and have a bicycle repair station nearby as well as portable toilet and new historical interpretive and wayfinding signage using the existing wooden kiosk. Art is planned to be incorporated into the park through functional seating feature(s). This will be procured through an artist call for proposals. Fencing in select areas of the park is proposed to be post and wire, visually minimalistic and blend into the surroundings while providing a safety barrier from the railway and ravine slope. The large boulders are proposed to be used throughout the site in a number of ways including playground features, accents beside the pathways and in the fitness equipment area. A few picnic tables and bench seating will be included in strategic spots through the park to encourage spending time in the park and enjoying the surroundings.

SITE HISTORY

The Limehouse area has a rich history of lime and quarry activity, owing to its location on the Niagara Escarpment, which provided early settlers with a valuable source of raw material, and on the main Canadian National Railway line, approximately 56km west of Toronto. In the 1840's quarry and lime kiln operations were established on the site. The lime kiln operations remained active until around 1900 and the quarry operations until 1915. Following the closure of the quarry, the site was backfilled with imported soil and remained unused until the 1960's.

An automotive salvage yard operated on the property from the late 1960's until 2008, when the Town of Halton Hills purchased the property. Following the acquisition, a significant cleanup effort was undertaken, with the removal of salvage yard materials completed in 2009 & 2010.

The automotive salvage business was owned and operated by Fred & Margaret Tolton and as part of the land purchase and donation, Town council named the property Tolton Park.

REMEDIATION REQUIREMENTS

Due to the previous salvage yard, quarry, and lime kiln use of the property, significant soil contamination exists.

The Town of Halton Hills has undertaken the necessary environmental studies and fulfilled the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) requirements to identify contaminants and determine how to safely prepare the site for future public park use.

These studies include: Remediation Options Study 2011, Archaeological Assessment 2012, ESA Phase 1 completed 2020, ESA Phase 2 completed 2021, Risk Assessment 2022-2024, Certificate of Property Use 2024, Record of Site Condition 2024.

Based on the results of these studies and MECP approvals, a variety of remediation strategies will be implemented to protect the public from exposure to contaminants of concern. These strategies include capping contaminated areas with soil and fencing off areas to restrict public access. The thickness of the soil cap will vary to protect existing trees and vegetation on site. The ravine area on east edge of the property will be fenced to restrict public access and preserve existing vegetation. These Ministry-approved approaches inform how certain areas will need to be treated in the development of the park and also allow flexibility for the development of a wide variety of park features and amenities.

The site cannot be opened for public until remediation is complete. Photos of current site conditions are available in the document library, offering a glimpse of existing features and the potential for park development.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION & PARK DESIGN PROCESS

The design of the park will take place through a two-part public consultation process:

PART 1: Concept Design Review (Summer 2025) COMPLETED

Town staff developed two distinct concept designs for the park. The concepts sparked discussion, showcased potential ideas, and received over 90 responses online, public open house (September 18) participants and people directly contacting staff to share preferences. From this feedback staff developed a preferred design for the park.

PART 2: Preferred Design Review (Fall 2025)

Using the feedback received during Part 1, staff will developed a preferred park design. This design is currently being shared with the public for additional comments, refinements, and final input before creating the final design and moving forward to the construction phase.