Gender-neutral change room planned for wellness centre

People will have a chance on Monday to see plans on the city’s website for the proposed $3.25-million renovation of the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre and to weigh in on the reception and gender-neutral change room designs.

The renovations will involve replacing the pool’s aging HVAC system, as well as combining the three change rooms off the pool area into one large, gender-neutral change room and rebuilding a new front desk area for better COVID-19 safety and better accessibility.

Architects Michael Gallant and Amanda Motyer of Lett Architects in Peterborough presented the proposed new change room design to the city’s arenas, parks and recreation advisory committee at a virtual meeting on Thursday night.

Motyer noted that the city recently opened two gender-neutral washrooms (which she designed): there’s one at Nicholls Oval, which opened in 2018 and another (with showers) at Beavermead Campground, which opened last year.

The large new change space at the Sport and Wellness Centre would combine the existing men’s, women’s and family change rooms with 35 private change rooms, said Motyer, plus nine larger family change rooms, 11 private showers, a group shower area and 10 selfcontained small washrooms (each with a toilet and a door rather than stalls).

There will be 314 half-size lockers (which wellness centre manager Rob McAulay said increases their locker space), she said.

Gallant added that there are also accessible washrooms and showers included in the design, and that the new reception area at the Brealey Drive facility would have an accessible-height counter.

There are also additional design features such as a washroom off the pool deck and a “splash area” in the group shower zone for kids to play in. There’s also a boot bench in the entranceway of the change area designed so people can sit and remove their boots upon entry.

The presentation from the architects to the arenas, parks and recreation board was recorded on Thursday, and McAulay said it will be posted on the city’s website, in the Connect Peterborough section, on Monday (along with the areas for offer feedback). “Tell us what you like — tell us what you don’t like,” McAulay said.

City council voted a final time on Dec. 14 to apply for a bit more than $1 million in federal and provincial COVID stimulus funding to help pay for the renovations.

If the city gets that money, it will leave the city to pay $2.2 million — some of which has already been set aside for the eventual repairs, according to a recent city staff report.

The pool’s HVAC system — called a Dectron — is 15 years old and ought to be replaced before it breaks down, the staff report states. The project is expected to take four to six months to complete. The staff report recommends closing the pool and change rooms from April until September or October.

Also at the arenas, parks and recreation advisory committee meeting:

Firehall location

The committee voted to invite city staff to come give a presentation in February on the remaining two locations in contention for a new north-end firehall: the green space at Sunset Boulevard and Chemong Road and the now-closed Northcrest Arena on Marina Boulevard.

They also voted to send councillors a letter thanking them for removing Inverlea Park (near Water Street and Parkhill Road) from the list of potential locations. The plan is to send a letter in advance of the final council vote on that on Jan. 25.

The city is planning to build a new north-end firehall to replace the aging one on Carnegie Avenue.