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Residents in a busy downtown neighbourhood say they've been struggling to have a popular parkette cleaned up — but no one seems to be taking responsibility for its upkeep. The tiny parkette on Charles Street E. near Jarvis Street has been a popular rest spot, residents say, a lush, green oasis in an otherwise busy neighbourhood.

It's had benches, a trash container on a concrete pad and even a bike share station added. But in the past few years it has deteriorated into a litter-filled dust-bowl with patchy, weedy grass that becomes a quagmire whenever it rains, says Adam Wynne, director of the Church-Wellesley BIA. "This small parkette has great potential — there is a great opportunity to unlock this space," he said.



"Unfortunately the ground is so poorly maintained that people sink up to their ankles when it rains." Adam Wynne, of the Church-Wellesley BIA, says the small parkette has lots of potential, provided it's properly maintained. (Mike Smee/CBC) The problem seems to be that no one's taking responsibility for the maintenance of the property, says Connie Langille, of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association.

She says there's a dearth of green space downtown, and city statistics bear her out. At just 21.4 square metres per person, Old Toronto and East York offer the least amount of green space in the city.

By comparison, Scarborough provides the most, at 44.6 square metres per person. The parkette has deteriorated from a lush, well maintained greenspace in 2016 .

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