THUNDER BAY – A boarded rink with basketball nets, an expanded playground, and new walkways are among the changes in store for Dease Park, after city council approved a major revamp of the south side property Monday night.
Council also gave the go-ahead to consult the community on potential plans for a skate park and public plaza at the adjacent former Dease Pool site.
Those plans also contemplate traffic calming measures that could go as far as closing the half-block section of Dease Street that connects the two amenities.
The improvements are broken into phases, and some could depend on securing outside funding.
The proposal from city administration was approved unanimously by city council Monday. Coun. Brian Hamilton, whose McKellar Ward includes the park, voiced his support.
“The character of this park is going to change if we go through with this plan, to be more user-friendly and [draw] more people," he said.
Council allocated an initial $253,000 in 2021, roughly half of the amount necessary to complete Phase 1 and Phase 2 work on Dease Park approved Monday.
An application to the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative for up to $250,000, if successful, could accelerate the remaining work. The city expects an answer on that application in April.
The changes were guided by consultations with area residents, including more than 100 students at nearby McKellar Park School.
That found strong support for the year-round boarded rink that can be used for activities like basketball, roller skating, lacrosse, and the Playground Program in the summer.
Phase 1 priorities, estimated to cost $240,250, including adding the rink, rerouting walkways around the edge of the park and adding a sitting area, and preserving a large green space.
Phase 2, estimated at $232, 500, includes new lighting, benches and tree planting, a shade structure, and an expanded playground.
Phase 3, not yet formally approved, involves the addition of a small building with changerooms/washrooms and a small storage/skate-tying area.
The city had initially proposed redeveloping the site of the Dease Pool, closed in 2018, with a tennis/pickleball court and other features including fruit trees and a community garden. Those options received "marginal community support" during consultations in 2019 and were redrawn.
Some councillors raised concerns that previous plans to renew city parks had looked great on paper, but had yet to materialize.
“I recall a few years ago we did a very similar consultation with Paterson Park, we had very similar drawings, engagement, we got the business community out,” said Coun. Shelby Ch'ng. “I just don’t want to go through this whole process again [just] a few blocks away, to have the plan sit on a shelf.”
Director of recreation and culture Leah Prentice pointed out council had already approved steps to renew the site, allocating capital and operating budgets.
A tentative plan for the former pool site now includes an intermediate-level skate park, along with some other features that could include tree planting and public art.
A skate park would cost just over $300,000, but the cost of other amenities including a shade structure would raise the total cost of redeveloping the property to almost $500,000.
Hamilton suggested the skate park, supported by the Thunder Bay Skateboard Coalition, could be paid for in part through community fundraising.
Rebuilding the pool was estimated to cost nearly $2.2 million and was not recommended by administration, partly thanks to the presence of nearby Art Widnall outdoor pool.
That plan will be taken to the community for further consultation, including on potential noise concerns for nearby residents.
Citizens will also be asked to weigh in on traffic calming options for the short section of Dease Street between the two properties. Those could range from no change at all to full closure, with intermediate options including marked crossings or bumpouts.
The total cost for all potential changes to the park and pool sites could range as high as $2 million, depending on the timeline for implementation, estimated general manager of community services Kelly Robertson
Council also previously voted to preserve the $50,000 annual operating budget from the pool, now used to run community programming in the area.
It's far more than the city would usually spend on a neighbourhood park, councillors and staff alike noted. Coun. Mark Bentz worried the city was "potentially overreaching" with the plan, though he supported further community consultation and the initial Dease Park improvements.
Administration is expected to come back to council in the third quarter of this year with a revised plan for the pool site and Dease Street calming measures.
