Ball diamonds bring a host of obnoxious behaviour, residents say

Proposal to add lights to Breithaupt Park has neighbours calling foul

KITCHENER — Streets clogged with parked cars, blocked driveways, trespassing and public urination are all part of the nightmare residents endure whenever there’s a ball game at Breithaupt Park, they told councillors Monday as they pleaded for the city not to extend hours at the diamonds.

As baseball has increased in popularity, city staff is struggling to find ways to accommodate the demand for ball diamonds. One low-cost solution to increase ballpark capacity would be to add lighting at two ball diamonds at Breithaupt, at a cost of about $580,000.

But that prospect horrifies residents who live beside Breithaupt Park.

They came to Monday’s community and infrastructure services committee to say the ball diamonds already bring numerous problems; lighting the diamonds until 11 p.m. will just mean the problems go later into the night.

“I enjoy my peace and quiet after work, and now there will be none,” said Evan Cancelliere, who just bought a house in the area.

Now, when the ball diamonds close at 9 p.m., players and spectators can linger for another hour, he said. Extending field hours until 11 p.m. would push that to midnight.

The ball games are noisy, with cheering crowds, yelling, fans chanting to cheer on their teams, the clang of bats and the slamming of car doors, said Patti Moses.

But the games can bring other unpleasant behaviours, she said, including loud and obnoxious behaviour, obscenities, and people trespassing into backyards. She told councillors she has had her driveway blocked by parked cars, and has seen parents encouraging children to relieve themselves outside. One neighbour was sitting in their backyard enjoying a barbecue when a man urinated into their yard, then angrily demanded what the residents were looking at.

When there is a weekend tournament, activity at the diamonds can start at 8 a.m. and run until 8 or 9 at night, she said.

“There is a collective sense of relief when the games are over and the people have dispersed,” she said. “It’s too much for us to imagine having all of this going on until 11 at night.”

Residents only learned of the proposal to light the diamonds a little over a week ago, she said, presenting a petition signed by 44 people. “We feel our peace and quiet, our sense of well-being and security within our homes is all being threatened with this proposal,” Moses said.

Councillors approved a $1.5million plan to develop softball diamonds at Upper Canada Park for 2019, but delayed a decision on the lighting proposal at Breithaupt until April 3, to see if city staff can address some of the problems there, through things such as adding portable toilets, increasing bylaw enforcement and restricting parking on residential streets.

Lights at the two diamonds, which are the only skinned clay fields in the city without lights, would allow two games each evening at each field. That increased field capacity is equivalent to building another diamond, according to a report by city staff.

Interest in baseball is booming, said Ron Mooibroek of Kitchener Minor Baseball. The number of registered players in the association has increased 73 per cent since 2009, from 541 players to 937 in 2016, he said. The association doesn’t allow drinking at its games and has a code of conduct, but doesn’t advise people about where to park, he told councillors.

Demand is high for both softball and hardball, said Denise McGoldrick, director of operations for environmental services. The city’s long-term plan is to install lights at every diamond in the city, since that is the least expensive way to get the most out of each field, she added.