THUNDER BAY – The first of a number of planned improvements to Dease Park is taking shape, with a new basketball court that will double as a boarded ice rink set to open in a matter of weeks.
Crews have laid the concrete pad for the court at the south end park, and two sets of basketball nets will soon be added.
Finishing work including trail connections and an access to the site for pumper trucks to flood the rink in the winter will still take a few weeks, said Cory Halvorsen, the City of Thunder Bay’s manager of parks and open spaces.
It’s the first phase in larger plans approved by city council last year to add recreation opportunities at Dease Park and the adjacent former Dease Pool site. With a number of competing priorities for funding within the parks section, however, Halvorsen said it’s still uncertain how long it will take to realize those plans.
In the meantime, the city anticipates the addition of the basketball court/skating rink will bring new life to the park, also making it a potential site for city programming like the playgrounds program.
“Just this one change here does create a lot of opportunities for activities,” said Halvorsen. “Having a permanent boarded rink with a concrete surface is actually kind of unique and provides a lot of flexibility for programming and use all year round, which is a big improvement.”
A second stage of planned improvements would expand the park’s small playground, and add new walkways and lighting. That stage’s estimated $232,000 cost has not yet been funded by the city.
Stage three of improvements to the park would include the addition of a washroom/changeroom facility, but has not yet been formally approved by city council.
The timeline for the second and third stages remains uncertain, but Halvorsen said city staff are hoping to make more progress at Dease Park as they prepare recommended capital budgets for 2023.
“This site is one of the projects on our list of sites to consider for where to allocate funds,” he said. “I think we’d like to see the momentum carry forward, but we do have a lot of competing priorities throughout all of parks. We have lot of projects going on this year, and we have a long list that are still pending as well – that’s the challenge we have.”
A further stage four of redevelopment includes a revamp of the former Dease pool site,
The city is also considering traffic calming measures or even full closure of the section of Dease Street that connects the park and former pool.
The city will soon be consulting with the Thunder Bay Skateboard Coalition on the design of the skate park, a concept council approved last year.
“The use of skateboarding facilities in the past number of years has gone up – as has all outdoor park use,” said Halvorsen. “So I think there’s a level of excitement there, but we do want to make sure it’s done appropriately for the space and for the neighbourhood, so that’s the consultation piece.”
