Sara McCleary

It's been a while since I've written an opinion piece, for various reasons, but I'm finally back this week because I've recently figured something out.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : City neighborhoods shouldn't suffer to accommodate downtown City neighborhoods shouldn't suffer to accommodate downtown Author of the article: Article content It's been a while since I've written an opinion piece, for various reasons, but I'm finally back this week because I've recently figured something out. Like a lot of Sault Ste. Marie residents, I'm not a fan of the fact that City Council has put the money it has into the downtown plaza. I was in favour of it at first, but over time it started to leave a sour taste in my mouth. The thing was, I could never fully put my finger on why. Yes, we have other problems to tackle, but a lot of those are issues out of the City's jurisdiction. And sure it's a lot of money to spend on one project, but a lot of it came from other levels of government as grants. So why did it irk me? Then, the City started talking about the possibility of closing one or two of the neighbourhood rinks. This initially came up during budget deliberations and then again a couple weeks ago when the parks and recreation advisory committee started looking for ways to trim money from the budget allocated to the rinks. They've also recently announced an “adopt-a-park” program, obviously with the goal of reducing spending on park maintenance. Meanwhile, the 2024 budget sets aside nearly $300,000 for maintenance of the downtown plaza. But here's the thing – it's not just the general fact that the funds are being pulled from other city services and redirected toward the plaza, as frustrating as that is. What's been bothering me is that the City's budget priorities are working to funnel everyone toward the downtown to the detriment of smaller neighbourhood recreation. The best way to have a healthy community – both physically and mentally – is to ensure everyone lives within reasonable walking distance of (free) outdoor recreation, whether that's a park, pool, splashpad, skating rink, tennis courts, or some combination thereof. People are far less likely to make use of these opportunities if they have to drive or catch a bus to them first. I (like most parents, I'd imagine) am also far more likely to let my kids walk to the neighbourhood rink without me than head all the way downtown, which means if the closer option isn't available, they'll likely end up just sitting around instead. We need to be prioritizing neighbourhood amenities before creating larger, centralized ones like the downtown plaza. Not least because it disproportionately hurts lower income families who have a harder time making it to the centralized sites. It's sad but unsurprising that the first outdoor rink on the chopping block when it came up at council was Esposito Rink, located near Gore Street. Similarly, if the City relies on an “adopt-a-park” approach to park maintenance, including allowing residents to purchase new equipment for their park, I think it's safe to say we'll end up with some parks looking quite a bit different than others. I don't say that to suggest that those parents who can afford to shouldn't support their kids by gussying up their nearest park, but rather to point out that this is yet another way that the emphasis on centralized spending will negatively impact families in lower-income neighbourhoods. My sister moved to Toronto about 10 years ago now. Although I'd been to TO for touristy stuff, I'd never really been into the city's neighbourhoods at all until then, and I still remember my amazement that she lived walking distance to a park AND a splashpad. Then she moved to an entirely different neighbourhood – and she STILL lived walking distance to a park and a splashpad! I was completely floored. The Sault's first splashpad had only just opened at this point, and they were apparently just another neighbourhood feature in Toronto?! I'm not naive. I know the Sault isn't Toronto and doesn't have its tax base. I'm not trying to say that we should have 15 splashpads across the city, or even a dozen outdoor rinks. I'm well aware that's not feasible. But this does demonstrate the way the City could prioritize spending. Focusing on spreading recreation spending relatively evenly across neighbourhoods, rather than funneling funds to downtown services and features, would be a far more equitable approach and support a healthier community all around. Sara McCleary regularly writes for the news columns of Sault This Week. 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Residents of all ages are invited to join the Senior Singers as they host their third benefit concert in support of St. Vincent Place on Thursday, May 9 at the Moose Lodge.

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