Collaboration key to recreation projects, consultant tells city
Published Tuesday October 14th, 2008
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
[email protected]
A new recreation master plan for the city calls for the establishment of a second indoor pool on the south side of the St. John River.
The city needs to call together potential partners to collaborate on that opportunity, says the $77,000 study by dmA Planning and Management Services.
Before moving ahead with such a project, the city should prepare a feasibility assessment, a business plan and partnership assessment, the report says.
"The indoor aquatic facility should be developed as a component of an accessible community recreation centre, not as a stand-alone facility," the consultants said.
"They're pretty important projects, but they're very expensive," said community services committee chairman David Kelly. "I'm hoping we're going to find a way to accommodate these things."
Finding partners or groups that can donate cash or in-kind donations is important, he said.
"We've talked about corporate funding and big entities that want to have their names associated with something we have here," Kelly said.
The city's indoor pool draws huge attendance and attracts people from areas surrounding the capital city, so demand on the facility is high, Kelly said.
The need for a second pool is there, he said.
But not all of the items in the consultant's report will require a lot of money.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are neighbourhood projects which can draw community support and can cater to the age and needs of the neighbourhood.
"We all have a role to play in this," Kelly said of forming community partnerships to achieve leisure goals.
Everyone benefits, he said.
"It's important for people to get out and be active," Kelly said.
The master plan is on the city's website at
www.Fredericton.ca.
It has been released in advance of public meetings set for Wednesday and Thursday so citizens can familiarize themselves with the report contents prior to the meetings.
The first public presentation of the plan is set for Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Willie O'Ree Place, 605 Cliffe St.
On Thursday, there will be two public information sessions at the Stepping Stone Senior Centre, 15 Saunders St. The sessions run from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
In other findings, the study says the city needs to consult at the end of this field season to assess the use and demand placed upon the city's first artificial turf field.
A second artificial field should be developed as a partnership project with a school, the universities in the city or the Fredericton Youth Soccer Association.
Removable artificial turf could be used in one of the city's two arenas when the ice is out in the spring. That would allow the city's grass fields to rest and be maintained during the wet spring season.
The city should look to consolidate a number of ballfields into larger sports fields, the report says.
The report's focus is on creating new and redeveloping community hub facilities to meet the needs of a variety of ages and recreation interests.
Creating sports hubs for a large number of participants means that people can take public transit or drive to those areas. Sufficient parking should be developed.
Community-level recreation hubs should be multi-generational and support a number of activities. The hubs should be linked by the city's walking path system so that people can walk or bike to enjoy recreation and social activities.
Neighbourhood-level recreation could be a play area for children, tennis courts or small skate parks. They need to be developed based on the demographics of the neighbourhood and community interests.
The study urges the city to work closely with community-based interests to come up with smaller-scale leisure projects that can be co-funded with the community.
The report urges the city's recreation division to draft a policy and write guidelines so that it can invite groups to co-sponsor small community projects.
The following are some other ideas contained in the recreation master plan:
* Adopt a policy to promote the sale of healthy food and beverages in concession and vending machines;
* continue to support trails and bikeways development. New trails should allow people to walk, cycle or use alternate types of foot power to reach recreation hubs;
* and create a recreation hub for Royal Road-area residents by adding a playground near the renovated outdoor swimming pool.
Prev
Linear Mode
