Floods relocate volleyball
Temporary volleyball nets at Sunset Beach are just that, the city says. Temporary. The city has relocated two volleyball organizations to the Port Weller beach from Port Dalhousie’s flooded Lakeside Park until it dries out.
“This is completely temporary. As soon as Lakeside is playable, they’re going back,” said acting director of parks, recreation and culture services Phil Cristi.
But the president of the Port Weller Residents Association is raising the alarm about the move, which comes less than four months after a contentious public meeting about a proposal to install a dozen courts at the northeast city beach.
“The situation created by the rising water levels has made it easy for them to just say we’re temporarily moving it over without any discussion at the council level, so that’s kind of frustrating,” David DeRocco said.
DeRocco raised concerns about the volleyball courts on Facebook and by email on the weekend, urging residents to contact their councillors about the “poorly veiled attempt to test the use of the beach for volleyball.”
Parks head Cristi said it’s important people understand there’s a clear separation between what’s happening now at Sunset Beach and any proposal for future usage.
He said people are upset because they think the volleyball players are moving in without warning and that’s not what’s happening.
The Niagara Rapids youth league and Niagara Sport and Social Club adult league have annual permits to use the courts at Lakeside Park. The city charges $17 for each two hours of usage from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Friday, with setup and takedown time.
They haven’t been able to play there because the volleyball net poles are standing in water.
Cristi said the groups reached out to the city and said the inability to use Lakeside was having a real impact on their programs and participants. They asked if it was possible for the city to relocate them so they wouldn’t have to cancel leagues and programs.
Cristi said the city could have cancelled the permits, but that would have impacted local community groups.
“It’s the impact to the users. It’s the impact to the youth. It’s the impact to the families. It’s the impact to the adults who are looking for recreational activities once the weather turns nicer, like now,” he said.
“For us, it was a matter of finding a way to help this group that was being displaced because of the situation at Lakeside. We’re fortunate that we found another place for them at Sunset. Again, this is all temporary.”
Cristi said the groups want to go back to Lakeside because it has better sand, more parking and newer washrooms.
The Lake Ontario water levels in Port Dalhousie over the past few weeks have also delayed construction on new buildings and pathways in Lakeside Park and postponed the long weekend opening of the historic carousel.
“It’s so unfortunate that this has happened. The park is really, really shaping up to be amazing when it’s done,” Cristi said. “There’s just water in places where there shouldn’t be. It’s impeding the construction.”
In February, more than 100 people attended a meeting in Port Weller about a proposal by Niagara Rapids, in existence since 1999, to install a dozen volleyball courts at Sunset Beach. The courts would be paid for by Niagara Rapids, but owned by the city and rented out. Most residents at the meeting were not in favour of the proposal. More than 1,600 people have signed a petition opposing the privatization of the public beach, though the city has made it clear the beach is not for sale.
No decisions have been made about the proposal and city staff have not brought a report to council.
DeRocco said the rising water levels at Lakeside Beach show how Sunset Beach is a rare commodity and shouldn’t be monopolized by volleyball.
“Our point is that the beach is a precious commodity,” DeRocco said.
“There’s all kinds of areas in the city and parks where a permanent sand court volleyball facility could be put.”