The Toronto Financial District Business Improvement Area (BIA) has launched a survey to inform the future of Cloud Gardens Park and Conservatory. Located in the heart of Downtown between Temperance and Richmond, the 2,400 m² Cloud Gardens is the Financial District's only public park, serving an area that employs over 200,000 people. 

Cloud gardens, image via Wikimedia Commons, by Maury Markowitz

Dating back to the aborted original Bay Adelaide Centre proposal of the 1980s, the space was given to the City as a community benefit in exchange for rezoning to allow the 57-storey tower. While the economic downturn of the early-to-mid 1990s left the initial project incomplete, the 21st century's ongoing building boom continues to transform the surrounding area, with the first two towers of Brookfield's new Bay Adelaide Centre now standing to the south. 

With an elevated greenhouse at its east end alongside a landscaped park space, Cloud Gardens features ample public seating, along with a water feature below the glass conservatory. Drawing a diverse user base that ranges during the day from office workers to bike couriers, tourists, and construction workers, the park is an important public space for the busy community around it. But how well does it work at less busy hours, and how can the experience be improved? 

Looking north along Cloud Gardens, image by Marcus Mitanis

To get a better understanding of how users feel about Cloud Gardens, the BIA's survey asks what they like and don't like about the park. The survey takes about two minutes to complete, offering the option to leave individual comments alongside a short series of multiple choice questions. If you would like to leave your mark, a link to the survey is available here.