Etobicoke will soon have to say goodbye to Centennial Park's go-kart track, batting cages

A beloved Etobicoke go-kart track is facing demolition along with a set of batting cages and beach volleyball courts as the city sets out on a plan to reconfigure its second largest park.

Operators of the attractions at Centennial Park are urging the city to let them stay as it begins to implement its 2021 master plan for the park, which was recently updated.

According to the plan, the changes will happen in phases and will see the park equipped with new large playground, a new water play area, improvements to pathways, skate trail and skate area, new baseball and soccer hubs and new multi-use sport courts.

Don Duggan, president of the Centennial Park Mini Indy, and Ethan Mitchell, president of Diamond Beach, have been told by the city that they must vacate the space by Nov. 30. Centennial Park Mini Indy includes the go-kart track, while Diamond Beach includes the batting cages and beach volleyball courts.

The go-kart track, at 2.6 kilometres, is Canada's longest, while the batting cages are Toronto's last ones. About 65 people who work at the facilities will be directly affected. An online petition has been launched to save the facilities. More than 1,900 people have signed.

"I think that they have made a decision that doesn't incorporate the best interests of all the people that are involved," Duggan said on Tuesday.

Duggan, who leases park property from the city for the track, cages and courts, said he was invited to a public consultation on future plans for the park two years ago and he found out then that his lease would not be renewed after this year. The facilities attract more than 100,000 customers every year, he said.

He said his customers are in "disbelief" that the facilities will be torn down. He added the facilities make up a "small portion" of the park.

"There was no actual consultation with us. We never saw anybody come out here and say, 'What's your traffic count, how many people are coming here?' We've never seen that. From my perspective, they are doing a huge disservice to the public at large. People want to come to these places," Duggan said.

Mitchell said the park is big enough to bring in the new facilities without getting rid of the old ones. 

"There's a huge empty field right there that is just sitting there primed and ready," he said.

Coun. Stephen Holyday, who represents Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre, said city council approved the Centennial Park master plan for the park in 2021. That plan was worked out by the city's parks department and community, he added.

Holyday said the park will have many public facilities that everybody can use.

"There's a lot going in here and there's a lot of demands from the community about what is needed. This master plan gives us a vision for the future. It's not surprising there's a lot of emphasis on sports and sport opportunity, including soccer and baseball, and also natural areas where people can just walk around or have a picnic and enjoy a park," he said.