Toronto swaps sand for cobblestones at popular Humber Bay beach. Locals are not happy
As the city works to protect a popular west end beach from the forces of nature, some residents say they’re making a local gem worse in the process.
The city is undertaking a multi-year revitalization of Humber Bay Park, which began in 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2025. That work includes protecting the shoreline from erosion caused by Lake Ontario.
Part of the project necessitated resurfacing the beach on Humber Bay Park East, something residents have recently taken issue with. In photos provided by residents, the beach was filled with what looks like sand.
It has since been resurfaced with cobblestones, according to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), which is doing the construction on behalf of the city.
Local resident Aman Somal said he understands erosion protection is necessary but is frustrated a balance couldn’t be found between that work and preserving the previous state of the beach.
“They keep calling it a beach, it’s no longer a beach. They have covered it in stone. You can’t sit comfortably on those stones,” said Somal, who fondly remembers enjoying the beach with his young niece and nephew.
“We live in small condos here, we don’t have backyard gardens, we don’t have backyard pools. So the park is our backyard and the beaches are our pools. We want to protect it.”
While the project has a wide scope, including construction of a new building in Humber Bay Park East, residents’ concerns centre on the beach that faces south-east onto Lake Ontario.
Somal said concerns only popped up in February when photos of the resurfaced beach began to circulate on neighbourhood Facebook groups, taken by people who had gone around construction barriers. The TRCA says people should not be accessing the site due to safety concerns.
Somal said he feels that city hall is only focused on erosion control and hasn’t given any consideration to the recreational space.
A city spokesperson told CBC Toronto in a statement that the city recognizes the change “impacts the recreation potential of” the Humber Bay Park East beach. The city plans to use pea gravel, a finer material than cobblestones, when resurfaces the nearby, narrower beach in Humber Bay Park West.
Pea gravel is not cost effective for the east beach because of how large it is, the city said.
The ‘failing state’ of erosion control
The city said the stones on the east beach will be arranged in a way that creates a “flatter surface.” The city also said that access to the beach will be improved.
But the work was badly needed, according to the TRCA’s website. It says the structures meant to protect the shoreline from erosion are in “failing condition.”
The erosion protection structures were originally built over 50 years ago and have deteriorated from ongoing wave action, high lake levels and increasingly severe windstorms, Jet Taylor, the agency’s senior manager of erosion risk management, told CBC Toronto in a statement.
“Given recent storm events and future climate change considerations, the materials used for construction must withstand these challenges,” Taylor said.
The TRCA’s website specifically references events that have exacerbated the damage: record high lake levels in 2017 and 2019, as well as a severe windstorm in April 2018.
Pea gravel not good enough: residents
Dee Persaud, a retiree who moved to the area after falling in love with the park, said having a finer material on the west beach doesn’t cut it, because its a farther journey from condos near the east beach.
“It’s a long walk,” she said. “We’re told, ‘don’t use your car.'”
She said it will be harder for seniors living near the east park to reach the west beach.
She’s also frustrated about the change in material on the east beach.
“If you walk on the beach, [it] means that you’ve got to put on running shoes,” Persaud said.
Fellow resident Marie Braz agreed. “I can’t imagine walking on that, never mind plopping a chair down and, you know, a picnic basket,” she said.
As the long term project gets closer to completion, Somal said he wishes more of a balance could’ve been found.
“We understand why they’re doing it and the erosion prevention is necessary. We have seen erosion,” he said. “But it should be done in a way that protects the recreational value of the space.”
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