Bradford residents can look forward to a whole host of proposals for future improvements to the town’s parks and recreation facilities.
Council’s committee of the whole recommended endorsing the next steps outlined to update the draft Leisure Services Master Plan during the council meeting on Tuesday night.
At the beginning of the regular meeting of council, Mayor James Leduc announced deputations would be rescheduled slightly to have them presented directly before the corresponding staff reports on the same matters that evening.
As a result, Anand Desai, project lead for Monteith Brown Inc, presented his deputation during committee of the whole along with Nick Warman, the town’s manager of recreation and client services, who prepared the staff report on the draft master plan.
Desai explained his presentation was intended to update council on the progress made so far and the next steps needed to update the previous plan which was adopted in 2017.
“Some of the more notable achievements that have been accomplished since 2016, a specified amount of parkland was recommended, and incredibly, your town has been able to achieve 95 per cent of the amount of parkland that was recommended back then. That is no easy feat — let me tell you. ... You are an exception to the norm,” he said.
Despite those efforts, the draft plan notes that in order to maintain two hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents, the town would need 120 hectares by the year 2032, and in order to reach that target the town would need to increase its total parkland by more than 35 hectares.
Desai commended the efforts of the town and staff to improve existing parks, noting that the completion of the first phase of Henderson Memorial Community Park has alleviated much of the pressure that has come with the town’s population growth, and pointed to the pickleball courts at the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre as another example.
In addition to reaching those milestones, the consultant’s report said since 2017, about half of the other 66 recommendations from the previous plan have been implemented, including:
- Preparation of a conceptual plan for Centennial Park;
- Rejuvenation of established parks such as Taylor Park and Lions Park;
- Additions to the sports field supply including new fields for soccer, ball and cricket;
- Two new splash pads and six new playgrounds
As part of the update, the new plan will set new goals for parks, recreation facilities and services to the year 2031, by which time the town’s population is estimated to reach 60,000. Some of those goals included:
- Create a new multi-use community centre in Bradford with an arena, indoor aquatics centre, gymnasium, and group fitness studio;
- Redevelop Bond Head Hall and Bud Brown Park with a small gymnasium or large hall, group fitness studio, social space, tennis courts, waterplay, basic skateboarding and outdoor skating;
- Redevelop the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre to provide barrier-free accessibility and enable recreation, culture, and social activities;
- Initiate Phase 2 of development of Henderson Memorial Community Park with an outdoor artificial turf field, circular field for cricket and community activities, and other amenities; and
- Convert the Lions Park building to a youth centre
Speaking to the expected population growth, Desai pointed to the need for some major capital projects.
While the consultant praised the creation of the current BWG Leisure Centre as proactive, he noted the facility is already busy and in future, a new community centre will be needed to offer the necessary facilities, such as another ice pad, aquatic centre, gymnasium and fitness studio.
“There is no logical community centre in our opinion at the moment that could be easily expanded to include any or all of those facilities, and thus it really gives strong consideration to a need to perhaps assemble some land while land is available in the Bradford settlement boundary,” he said.
Desai also pointed to both aging facilities and a growing population in Bond Head, and to address that he recommended a multi-use approach with the creation of either a small gymnasium or a large hall to allow for both community gatherings and sports uses.
Being built in the ’50s, Desai also said there is a need to re-imagine the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre as it approaches 70 years in operation.
In addition, the consultant noted that the Bradford and District Community Centre is currently the town’s only facility with enough space to host large events like trade shows.
Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney praised the efforts of staff, adding that she moved to Bradford in 2008 and was proud to see the growth in services since then, and was looking forward to seeing them grow further.
Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie agreed there was a need to find future space for parks and facilities, and also pointed out how lucky the town is to already have so many parks and parkettes which can be revitalized; however, he emphasized the creation of future spaces will require careful planning and development agreements, especially as taller, denser developments are expected to come to town in the future.
Ward 2. Coun Jonathan Scott praised the efforts of staff and consultants and asked staff what the process would be for the Bud Brown Park, a second leisure centre and revitalizing the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre.
Town CAO Geoff McKnight explained the next steps for capital projects recommended in the final report, in addition to the anticipated implementation plan, would be to create a financing plan to fund the work, and once that is set, it would be included in the annual budget process.
Scott also asked about the potential for a rowing/kayaking/canoeing facility on town-owned land along the canal.
Terry Foran, director of community services, explained canoeing and kayaking weren’t raised during the consultation period, but acknowledged that the Marsh Mash has been successful and there is some potential for those facilities if the desire is expressed through consultation.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper recommended the final report should include a prioritized list of projects to help guide council.
The mayor thanked staff and the consultant for an "exciting" report, which he said he couldn’t put down and highlighted the use of the Framework for Recreation in Canada and fostering active living as foundations of the plan.
Desai noted that to the best of his knowledge, in 2016 Bradford was the first municipality to include in their master plan the Framework for Recreation in Canada, which was only approved by the federal government in 2015.
Leduc also agreed that it would be best for the town to start purchasing the lands needed for parks and facilities sooner rather than later.
“We might have to take that leap now ... because we know, as time moves on, costs get greater. We never go down in costs; we always go up,” he said.
Desai reiterated that it’s in the town’s best interest to be proactive and prepare for future population growth, not just to 60,000 by 2031, but also to 90,000 by 2051.
Online surveys, which garnered almost 1,400 responses, community workshops and consultation with community partners ran from December 2022 to February 2023, and Desai said residents are expected to have more opportunities to review and comment on the draft plan in September (both online and in person), before a final report is expected to be presented to council in October.
Recommendations from committee of the whole are considered for approval at the next regular council meeting.
