“Can I cool off in that children’s splash pad?" Your heat wave questions, answered

As temperatures soar into the 40s, Torontonians without air conditioning are looking for ways to keep cool. The City of Toronto has responded with its Heat Relief Strategy as well as an interactive map listing designated “cool places” like pools, community centres and civic buildings. All of which is nice, but it doesn’t answer the more pressing questions of the heat-addled mind, which looks longingly at the children’s splash pad and wonders if there’s an age limit. For those, Toronto Life presents this guide.

“When is it socially acceptable for an adult to use the park splash pad?” Your mileage will vary depending on who’s around. During a heatwave, you’ll probably be fine to walk through it. Playing around in it may be a different story. Regardless, keeping cool is more important than how strangers see you.

Going to a regular pool can be a more socially acceptable way to cool off—but not a foolproof one. As part of the city’s Heat Relief Strategy, some have extended hours for the duration of the heat warning.

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However, city pools may be also forced to close periodically in hot weather for the safety of their staff, as has already happened during this heat wave. If you want an alternative, fill up your bathtub with cool water and sit in it. You won’t be able to swim, but it’ll keep you cool, and there’s less risk of a stranger peeing in it.

No way I’m waiting in line for a pool. Where else can I go? Even if yours doesn’t have a pool, a public park can be a good place to cool down.

Dense city streets tend to be hotter than other places experiencing the same weather due to what’s called the urban heat island effect. Dark, paved and exposed surfaces trap heat from the sun and release it gradually into the air. A grassy park, on the other hand, will be naturally cooler than the concrete jungle, and trees can make for a good shaded area to keep out of the sun.

The beach can be another good option. Temperatures on a lake shore are often lower than farther inland due to lake breezes. As the air over land gets hotter, it rises and gets replaced by cooler air from above the water.

According to one heat map of Toronto, places near the lake are currently two to four degrees cooler than surrounding areas, and parts of the Toronto Islands and the Leslie Street Spit are as cool as 22 degrees.

Won’t there be crowds there? Fair point—as temperatures rise, like-minded people will flood the beach and the parks, adding their body heat to the mix. Consider keeping away from the most popular locations, like Ashbridges Bay or High Park. Stick to smaller or more secluded areas or head into the trails and ravines. Toronto’s ravine system is the largest of any city in the world, and now is a great time to take advantage of it. Places near the Don River are one to three degrees cooler than surrounding areas.

“Can I go shirtless if it’s too hot?” It is legal to be shirtless regardless of the temperature. For women in Ontario, a court ruling in 1996 won their right to go shirtless. However, police can still arrest topless women if they feel that their behaviour is “lewd,” which is vague and subjective criteria.

“Will people on the TTC judge me if I smell like sweat?” Nobody will be able to tell—the TTC already smells like that.

“Can I refill a water bottle in a public bathroom’s sink?”
Tap water in Toronto is safe, but you may want to avoid touching the faucet with the mouth of the bottle.

“Can I drink straight from Lake Ontario?” Though Toronto’s drinking water is sourced from our lovely lake, it undergoes extensive filtering and disinfecting. Drinking untreated lake water is never advisable. Even swimming in Lake Ontario isn’t advisable after storms, which transfer bacteria like E. coli into the shore waters. Last year, for instance, a storm put 1.3 billion litres of sewage into the lake. Short answer: no.

“Can I drink the splash pad water?” At the time of writing, Toronto Water has not responded to a request for comment. But we don’t recommend it.