Willow Beach Revitalization

The Willow Beach Revitalization Project supports several objectives identified in the Town’s Official Plan, including but not limited to:

• Seeking opportunities for increased public access to the Lake Simcoe shoreline for residents and visitors; and
• The development, where feasible, of an extensive pedestrian and bicycle trail system that follows the Lake Simcoe shoreline.

In 2025, Council provided approval to proceed with detailed designs and tender documents based on the design concept from the Waterfront Parks Master Plan (2023).  This design concept was developed based on extensive engagement with the public and stakeholders to reflect community wants and needs for a revitalized Willow Beach Park. The design concept depicts the general desired function and form of the revitalized Willow Beach Park and will be used as a foundation for the detailed design.

Park amenities and infrastructure in Willow Beach are at the end of their service life, and improvements are needed to revitalize the park. Willow Beach is affected by persistent stormwater management issues that limit the enjoyment of the space and affect how the space can be programmed. The park suffers from pedestrian safety concerns as a function of how Lake Drive East bisects the parkland and separates park users from Lake Simcoe. Pedestrians and cyclists must cross the existing Lake Drive right-of-way to access a narrow beach and shoreline.

Willow Beach Park is a 4.4 Ha public waterfront park located on Lake Simcoe at 1506 Metro Rd. Willow Beach Park includes approximately 530m of narrow beach, picnic areas, a playground, washroom and changeroom facilities, and parking for 150 vehicles. Park amenities and infrastructure in Willow Beach are at the end of their service life, and improvements are needed to revitalize the park. Willow Beach is affected by persistent stormwater management issues that limit the enjoyment of the space and affect how the space can be programmed, with low-lying areas subject to seasonal ponding from rain and snow melt. The park suffers from pedestrian safety concerns as a function of how Lake Drive East bisects the parkland and separates park users from Lake Simcoe. Pedestrians and cyclists must cross the existing Lake Drive right-of-way to access a narrow beach and shoreline. Parking lots provide 150 total parking spaces but this is insufficient based on current peak summer demand. The park has washrooms and changerooms that are at the end of their service life and which are in need of replacement.

• 16 workshops
• One online survey with more than 1,500 survey responses seeking input on preliminary concepts for each waterfront park
• A second survey seeking input on the revised concept designs for each waterfront park
• Five park pop-up consultation sessions hosted at waterfront parks to provide residents and visitors with an opportunity to see the concept plans in person for all waterfront parks

Of these engagement events, two workshops and one park pop-up were specific to only Willow Beach Park. Detailed designs for Willow Beach Park will be based on the community engagement efforts completed through the WPMP. The concept plan for Willow Beach Park supports all six fundamental principles from the WPMP: Connecting to the water, pedestrian priority, safety for park users, variety of activities/flexible spaces, clear organization, and tourism and economic development.

Courtney Rennie, Senior Project Manager, Parks and Open Space
cerennie@georgina.ca
905-955-1887

The design concept for Willow Beach Park gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists over vehicles. The plan envisions that the park's green space is directly connected to the water’s edge by redirecting Lake Drive to Metro Road North through new driveways and parking lots along the park’s east and west sides. The existing Lake Drive right-of-way is transformed into a widened beach with a new lakefront promenade that accommodates pedestrians, cyclists and emergency access, and safely connects the sand beach and green space portions of the park. The concept includes new park pathways with picnic areas, centrally located washrooms and changerooms, a playground and other play spaces, and increased parking capacity. The concept also includes a flexible plaza/gathering space for community events and seasonal pop-up commercial opportunities such as food trucks or local markets. Other features of the concept include outdoor exercise equipment, multi-use play courts on the location of the relocated parking lots and broad stormwater management improvements to the entire property. The Town will work with a design team to develop a design which can be delivered within the construction budget approved by Council. Note that some elements of the design may change based on a detailed analysis of the site and the construction budget approved by Council.

Early concepts considered widening the beach, however, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority does not support beach widening through the use of groynes and expanding the beach into the lake. The preferred concept plan expands the beach inshore by redirecting Lake Drive East to Metro Road at the east and west sides of the park.

The Town is implementing a single, one-way, general purpose vehicular lane and a bi-directional, multi-use pathway (MUP) for pedestrians and cyclists along Lake Drive East through the Lake Drive Improvement Project. This new configuration will be implemented seasonally during spring/summer months and returned to standard two-way vehicular traffic during the remainder of the year. The design for Willow Beach Park will include safe connection and transition zones for pedestrians and cyclists to the Lake Drive seasonal multi-use path through vehicular traffic at the east and west ends of the parklands. The Lake Drive Improvement Project and the Willow Beach Revitalization Project together encompass a significant portion of the planned “Lake-to-lake Route,” which is intended to link Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe.

The Town will select a qualified, multi-disciplinary Prime Design Consultant and subconsultant team that includes landscape architectural, civil, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical and other specialized professional disciplines as required. The Prime Design Consultant will design all components of the project based on the Design Concept for Willow Beach Park. The design will be developed in 2025. The Town intends to explore grant opportunities through 2026 to support construction tentatively in 2027, pending approval of budget for construction by Council.

• Waterfront Parks Master Plan
• What We Heard Report #1
• What We Heard Report #2