To put this in context... both my sons are now off to university, and soccer was nothing more than a Rec League hobby with the Ottawa Royals..
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Originally Posted by silvergate
Sorry, but there are soccer fields all over that area of the city. There is one in central park, 2 at Carleton, 2 at St Pius off Fisher, etc.
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Yes... I know... but those fields are pretty much fully booked by the higher competitive teams. There's a HUGE shortage of fields for kids in Recreational Leagues in the "older" parts of town. From my home in Westboro, when the closest "home field" is Hunt Club/Greenbank or Lorry Greenberg Drive... that speaks of demand for more facilities. I am NOT the only parent in this situation
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Originally Posted by silvergate
Driving to other parts of town for sports is just how sports works. There are more teams if you include the whole city
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Tell me about it.. I once clocked 240km one Saturday just juggling conflicting tournaments in Kanata and Orleans
Had a great time, by the way!
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Originally Posted by lrt's friend
... I do see a National Botanical Gardens being a suitable re-use especially in parts that are underutilized such as close to Hartwell Locks. Of course, we saw what happened with the last attempt and those people who suggested that a Botanical Gardens are equivalent to Disney Land don't do credit to this city. As an aside, Botanical Gardens are great tourist attractions, which would again be suitable for a national facility such as the CEF.
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No complaints about this... sounds like a great idea... but it's just a couple of % in the corner of the whole site.
I'm just tossing out what I feel are practical ideas. MountainView provided excellent insight into some of the issues involved in taking over some of that property.
I guess the point is what (if anything) should be done with the Experimental Farm. If people want to leave the whole thing as it is, no skin off my nose really... and believe me, the LAST thing I'm advocating is paving the place over to put up 27 story buildings.
I know it's a slippery slope, but as the city matures, I really don't see the harm in having a discussion to free-up some of that space, and maybe move some of the appropriate research to more rural locations.