Fire pits eyed in outdoor health strategy
Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin is urging administration to help Windsor's pandemic-weary populace get outdoors and active through the winter, suggesting such season-stretching ideas as installing fire pits in city parks and keeping sports courts open year-round.
“Even when it's cold, you can do things,” Bortolin said Thursday, remarking how with community centres and indoor ice rinks now closed under red status, and with the possibility of more severe shutdowns if the region is moved to grey status, the city's parks are one of the few places left where people can do things safely.
“We do have to recognize that this is going to be hard,” he said of the coming winter months and tightened pandemic restrictions.
“So what are we doing to offer that up for residents?”
He raised the issue Wednesday at a meeting of council's community services and parks standing committee, after learning that cities elsewhere in Canada have devised wintertime strategies to encourage safe outdoor activities. If Calgarians can get outdoors when its -25 C, Windsorites can do it when it's -2 C, Bortolin reasoned.
The ideas he broached include keeping trails maintained and quickly cleared after every snowfall; encouraging skating on some of the ponds on city parkland, such as within Southwood Lakes; opening up city golf courses to cross-country skiers; keeping tennis, pickle ball and basketball courts open through the winter; and setting up fire pits in city parks.
Using the park nearest his home, Mitchell Park, as an example, Bortolin said: “If you were to put three fire pits in the middle of the area and drop firewood in one central spot, it would be fantastic.”
The fire pit idea would likely run afoul of open-burning restrictions set out by the Ontario Fire Code, which also outlaws backyard campfires in the City of Windsor. Windsor Fire Deputy Chief Andrea Dejong said currently open burning with solid fuels like wood is not permitted except for cooking, although the fire department has no problem with people using backyard fireplaces fuelled by propane or natural gas. She said council has asked Windsor Fire to draft a bylaw on open burning, which should be ready for council's consideration early in the new year.
Bortolin said he's suggesting that the city maximize its green space to allow for as much outdoor physical activity as possible. It did the same sort of thing in the summer for businesses that were suffering because of pandemic rules forbidding inside dining. The city quickly pivoted with loosened rules and waived fees for outdoor patios, as well as closed streets and allowed restaurants to create “parklets” out of street parking spaces.
“I think this is a similar approach, but for recreation, exercise, mental health and just allowing people to be safe outdoors,” Bortolin said.
James Chacko, senior manager of parks, said many of the suggestions made by Bortolin are ideas that his department are discussing.
For example, they've already decided to keep sports courts open, possibly keeping them open all winter except for a few short periods when the weather gets really severe. Toboggan hills at Little River and Malden Park will be open as normal, though people will be urged to maintain social distancing. There are plans to open Charles Clark Square and Lanspeary Park to free outdoor skating in the coming weeks. And skating is already permitted on many ponds, he said.
But given Windsor's warmer climate, people are cautioned to ensure the ice is at least three to four inches thick.
Cross-country skiing is also allowed on city properties when there's enough snow. And playgrounds will remain open through the winter.
“Certainly, this year we're looking at doing little extras to make sure parks are as open to people as long as they can be,” Chacko said Thursday.
As for trails, there's an increased emphasis on getting them cleared quickly after a snowfall. However, due to liability concerns, parking lots and sidewalks have a higher priority for snow clearing than trails, he added.
“It's difficult for us to leapfrog the trails ahead of the parking lots, but we can do as good a job as we can to get to the trails as quickly as possible.”
Chacko said it's evident that an increasing number of people are using city parks during the pandemic. Many have commented to staff on discovering new parks and amenities they never knew existed. Some who never used parks are suddenly discovering them. And people who only used certain parks, such as the showpiece Coventry Gardens along the riverfront, have branched out to explore places like Malden and Ojibway parks.
He's hoping that once the pandemic is over, the popularity of the parks will continue.
“It is great, it's something we really like to see, our parks well used,” said Chacko.
“It certainly brings a sense of satisfaction to our parks family. They want to see people out enjoying themselves and getting a sense of all our parks have to offer.”