City opening cooling room to beat the heat
Peterborough will see its first cooling room of the summer open Saturday as a heat wave lingers on.
The cooling room will be operated by One Roof drop-in centre located at 99 Brock St. and will be open between 9 a.m. and noon and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. during days when a heat alert is active.
Peterborough Public Health and Environment Canada both issued heat warnings on Thursday with temperatures of around 31 C and low temperatures of around 20 C forecast for the next six days, with the overnight lows providing little relief from the heat.
Normal temperatures for this time of year in Peterborough are a high of 26 C and a low of 14 C.
“Working to respond to demand, we know in this heat people need places to go,” said Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien.
“This isn’t just you know, vulnerable people that might be homeless, but also a lot of elderly folks, people that have respi
ratory issues, you know with the extreme heat you want to provide as many options as possible.”
Therrien said One Roof plans to do a soft opening with the cooling room Saturday so they do not get too swamped due to the protocols that need to be in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is going to be all these protocols in place for physical distancing for people who are symptomatic to get the help that they need, so the capacity is going to be 15 people,” Therrien said.
Activists and advocates had been asking for the city’s help in opening at least one cooling room during heatwaves, not only for the homeless and marginalized, but for everyone who requires it. Trish Campbell, community activist, said she has been appealing to the city to ensure one cooling room opens immediately due to the extreme heat and to keep the splash pads on until midnight.
“It is my understanding, Toronto has opened 15 cooling centres and they have extended the hours of their public swimming pools to midnight,” she said.
The city also announced Friday that it has extended the hours of splash pads in places like King Edward Park at 455 George St., until 9 p.m. until the heat wave passes sometime next week, to help with people who are experiencing discomfort.
Dan Hennessey, a local community activist, said it was poorly thought out when it comes to vulnerable and marginalized people being able to cool off.
“What happens if there is an adult sitting in the splash pad or wading pool trying to stay cool,” he said. “Some of the parents are going to get all nervous thinking the guy is sitting there staring at children and it wasn’t well thought out.”
People with disabilities and people below the poverty line living in rooming houses are going to suffer due to the heat, Hennessey said.
As a response to the need to stay cool, social assistance has agreed to provide their recipients with assistance for fans and other cooling options.