Drivers are feuding over High Park’s cherry blossoms again. The city thinks it may have the answer

There’s no surer sign of spring in the city than a blossoming cherry tree at High Park, with floral fans driving hours to admire the destination’s clutch of sakuras. And because this is Toronto, that means traffic mayhem.

After the trees reached peak bloom at the start of May, High Park locals complained of a deluge of cars. Tree tourists began fighting over parking spots on Roncey side streets, creating an environment some residents described as “aggressive” and “unsafe.”

It’s not the first time this has happened. Local councillor Gord Perks says that, in 2019, Toronto police and city parks staff were concerned that intense traffic during cherry blossom season would get someone killed. The solution was to close the park to car traffic for the weekend of peak bloom, which has been the move ever since. This has cut off visiting vehicles from two of High Park’s inner parking lots.

Related: A Q&A with Toronto’s traffic czar, Roger Browne

That’s been enough to drive both locals and motorists bonkers. Over 100 people signed a recent petition calling for the city to shuttle blossom watchers from parking lots on Lake Shore Boulevard, hoping this would take some pressure off the side streets. But that modest proposal doesn’t go far enough for some. “Honking in this otherwise peaceful neighbourhood is constant,” one resident wrote while signing the petition. “These beautiful blooms bring chaos versus joy to the extent that it is tempting to cut the trees down to keep the peace!”

Despite the brouhaha, Perks says his office has received fewer complaints year over year about disruptions during cherry blossom season, suggesting that visitors are, slowly, learning that driving isn’t the best way to see the trees. High Park is, after all, served by a subway station and three different streetcar lines—hardly a difficult place to get to without a car.

And it could soon become even more accessible. City council is considering an upgraded shuttle to serve the park, replacing the current Trackless Train, a rickety red tractor with two carriages that crawls around the park. A proper TTC bus route could be in the works too, but Perks cautions that the presence of jaywalking endangered turtles could derail that plan.

Nevertheless, his advice remains to leave the car at home. And for those who insist on parking illegally? “I wish it were possible to write a regulation preventing people from ignoring the law,” he says. “But that’s something all elected officials must struggle with.”