That Park Experience - they are going to tell you what you can and can't do - they will be nice to you.

News 100 greenBy Staff

June 11th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The City of Burlington has many great parks, big and small, that residents and visitors enjoy throughout the year. From playgrounds and skate parks to large, green open or forested areas, there is a park for everyone.

Starting June 14, the City will be piloting the Park Customer Experience program. The Park Experience team will be in parks to educate, engage and communicate with residents and park users, with a customer service focus.

We encourage park visitors to have a conversation with a Park Experience team member – ask questions about City of Burlington projects and general City related inquiries, get help navigating our website with a tablet, or learn about City events happening in the community.

Park Experience staff are also happy to pass along a compliment or help direct an issue to the right City staff person.

The Park Experience team will be visiting parks around the city and will have an ongoing presence at some of the busier parks like Spencer Smith, Beachway, LaSalle, Burloak, Norton and Lowville parks, daily throughout the summer. All team members will carry identification and be wearing a blue golf shirt.

During a review of the changes Parks and Recreation wants to make,  now that the province is permitting municipalities to open up, a number of issues were identified.

Spencer Smith - empty

There are limits on how the park space can be used during this first phase of the Re-Opening.

Issues:

  • During the pandemic there has been an increase of residents’ passive use of parks year round
  • Pre-pandemic, Recreation, Community and Culture has consciously limited the number of bookings in parks, outside of sport fields, events, picnics and photography, so that parks are not over subscribed with organized groups and allow for passive use of residents
  • The province is entering step 1 of the Roadmap to Re-open adding additional park use in the parks for sport and fitness
    • Group size of 10, 3 m distancing
  • The additional passive use in the parks has already put pressure on parks maintenance – garbage pick ups, washroom servicing, adding use will add pressure to this current
  • Some parks are much busier than others especially all the lakefront parks
  • Some times of day are busier than others – weeknight and weekends

Options

The following options were considered:

Assumption: all options are only applicable while under Step 1 of the Province’s Roadmap to Re-Opening

  1. Do not permit fitness classes in parks and retain only passive resident use – no cost
  2. Allow for fitness classes in open spaces in select locations, in select parks, and at select times, and charge the appropriate approved rental rate – revenue generation
    • Council-approved rate
      • Not for Profit with the 20% rate reduction already approved by Council – $9.97/hour plus HST
      • Commercial with the 20% rate reduction already approved by Council – $14.51/hour plus HST
    • Limit to weekday use
    • No lake front parks
    • Not on sport fields because of wear and tear issues and existing permitted use
    • Similar to photography permit conditions, it is the responsibility of the permit holder and group to accommodate the community in the park and to work around the
  3. Allow for fitness classes as outlined in option 2 but at no charge – no cost
  4. Allow for fitness classes in all parks without limitations and charge the appropriate fee – revenue generation
    • Council-approved rate
      • Not for Profit with the 20% rate reduction already approved by Council – $9.97/hour plus HST
      • Commercial with the 20% rate reduction already approved by Council – $14.51/hour plus HST
  1. Allow for fitness classes in all parks without limitations at no charge – no cost

Option 2 was chosen by the Leadership Team and approved by the Standing Committee

Decision:

Permit fitness classes in open spaces in select locations, in select parks, and at select times, and charge the appropriate approved rental rate.

  • This decision supports:
    • Staff’s ability to quickly communicate and act on requests given the possibility Step 1 of the Province’s Roadmap to Re- Opening will transition to Step 2 in or around July 2nd.
    • Staff balancing locations and timings with the passive use of
    • Staff’s ability to monitor how many groups are in the parks, when and where through the permitting
    • Equity of treatment with other parties seeking permits to utilize park space

Enforcement:

  • No by-law enforcement is required as the Parks By-Law allows for this type of use
  • COVID compliance with step 1 will occur on a complaint basis, when and if staff are available to investigate
  • Sport Ambassadors and Park Experience staff will observe use, mitigate onsite issues and report and follow up with supervisors and if required staff may need to re-assess a park location and timing of the permit
  • The permit holder must comply with all the terms and conditions for facility rental contract (permit). Non- compliance could result in the termination of the
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