Tomorrow evening (Wednesday, December 14) Councillor Sylvia Watson is holding a community meeting to discuss the idea of building a BMX course at Marilyn Bell Park along the waterfront. It’s an intriguing proposal — the course would be cheap to install, and would provide a alternative way to engage people, especially youth, in the use of our public spaces.
An inspiring Parks and Rec employee (who shall, for now, remain nameless due to a perplexing little rule the City has about it’s employees talking to the media) recently told me, “We have to use our spaces in ways that engage people…. No one’s investing in people, they’re investing in things.” Providing programs and facilities like this for youth is an important part of building a sustainable community — kids that are engaged now are more likely to become engaged as adults. A BMX park would also provide another opportunity for people to get hooked on bikes. As my Parks and Rec friend pointed out, these days “we commodify bikes so that only the environmentally aware are using them.”
Despite all the possible benefits of such a park, it’s been said that some people in the community worry about “the kind of people” a BMX park would attract. If you’d like to see more recreational opportunities for youth or are interested in participating in the planning and design of the proposed park, this could be an important meeting to attend. It takes place at 7:00 pm, Wednesday December 14 at Masaryk Cowan Community Centre (at Queen and Cowan, a few blocks west of Dufferin in Parkdale). For more information call 416-392-7919.
