Police say a man has been fined $1,150 after he was caught on the City of Toronto’s livestream of the High Park cherry blossoms trespassing in the park.
Screenshots of the man climbing one of the trees were taken off the City’s stream and were posted online.
A Toronto police spokesperson said the man was issued three tickets: entering into an area of a park posted to prohibit admission, walking where prohibited in a park and being in the park between 12:01 and 5:30 a.m. without a permit.
READ MORE: Toronto’s High Park to temporarily close in effort to stop cherry blossom crowds
News of the recent incident came after the City closed the park to visitors during the pre-bloom and the blooming period of the cherry blossoms due to concerns about physical distancing and crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.
The City installed signage and officers have been on patrol at various locations surrounding the park.
Although there are several sites across Toronto that have cherry blossoms, High Park — the city’s largest public park and located southwest of Keele Street and Bloor Street West — draws thousands of people for the annual blooms.
Comments