Making Space for Public Places

As summer temps start to go down, and school schedules materialize, temptations rise to go for a few splashes in the pool to soothe our senses.

The Alder pool in Orangeville has recently reopened after a long renovation. Delays in the project had swimmers feeling sad. Frustrated residents voiced their concerns. When the much-expanded pool complex finally reopened in June, squeals of delight and squeaky wet footwear could be heard echoing through the massive space as kids jumped in and lessons started. At last, new public swim lanes, waterslides and starting blocks for racers were all in place to welcome young and old alike.

For youngsters in the hills, public spaces and the commitment to maintaining and expanding them have never been more important. As housing in our towns rapidly increases in both number and density, the need to create and protect places to play, explore, climb, run, pedal and paddle is more challenging than ever. 

It takes fortitude and foresight by town planners, developers, recreation programmers and citizens, usually along with a bit of fight, to protect and fund public spaces for our kids, our kids’ kids, and those after them. It’s much easier to build more housing, especially with the current demand so high, and the perpetual development of land lines the pocketbooks of many. Parkland, recreation centres, playing fields and trails don’t make anyone money. In fact, like the Alder pool, they require not only the upfront cost but also ongoing expenses to maintain them as community assets for decades to come. They’re not a “one and done.” 

However, when we do make space for these public places, they become cherished and important parts of the community. Right now, I’m working in a town in York Region, and we are currently building the community’s first-ever public pool. The centre will also be home to a library and include a maker space, walking track, indoor playground and customer service. This building will be surrounded by a massive park and trails, and include an “event street” out front, suitable for parties and festivals. 

While Orangeville’s other, older rec complex, Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre, is not as grand, it has certainly provided another important focus of activity for the community. I remember swimming the pool lanes there for exercise, and taking aquafit classes with my best friend when I was pregnant, happy for the buoyancy and friendship. After Adrian was born, I took him to public swims and skates for years. In fact, as an adult, I learned to skate a little bit better at Tony Rose. I’ve often told Adrian of the years when the town’s celebrated Northmen lacrosse team won the Minto Cup for three almost consecutive years, and how exciting that was for the town. We’ve also told him about the fun times and funny stories from our teens, when we and our friends attended Lobsterfest, the Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser that saw hundreds of lobster dinners served on long plastic-lined tables, followed by dancing and partying all night long … if you know, you know.

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This summer, on a visit to our friends Joe and Alice in New York City, I had the chance to reflect on the importance of urban community building and the protection of parkland. In Manhattan, much of the population is steps away from the world-famous Central Park. 

Construction began on Central Park in 1858. It was a massive undertaking on close to 850 acres, much more than what we see in the towns and cities of today. The project saw 5 million cubic yards of stone, earth and topsoil moved and formed into the undulating paths and roads I visited on my trip. Construction of dozens of bridges, arches, overpasses and transverse roads made the snakes and ladders of the park walkable and workable. Former swampy but inhabited land (notably the site of Seneca Village, where the majority of residents were African American) was transformed. The park design was commissioned in 1858 and the first phase, The Lake, opened that year. However, completing the park took another 15 years and cost $14 million, nearly triple the project’s original $5 million budget.

Over the years, through shifting political and economic climates, the park experienced periods of decline. Park structures crumbled, gardens died and open spaces became overrun with weeds. During the Great Depression, people in search of shelter established a large shantytown on the grounds. Through the following decades intermittent restoration projects helped, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that the long-term investment to fully rehabilitate the park was undertaken in earnest, and in 1998 the Central Park Conservancy was established to maintain and preserve this green jewel for generations to come. 

Back at my workplace, the large construction site, which felt like a bit of a dustbowl during summer, will soon be the centre of activity for the community. It will be preserved and protected for decades to come. With fortitude and foresight, through smart planning and budgeting, the town will now have its own “central park” to complement the trails and smaller parks that speckle the map.