Council supports pickleball park plan
Attempt to halt 16-court proposal voted down
City councillors are unlikely to reconsider the plan for 16 new pickleball courts at Bonnerworth Park in Peterborough, though neighbours have said the courts will be noisy and take up all the park’s green space.
At a committee meeting at city hall on Tuesday evening — which was packed with concerned neighbours — a notice of motion from Coun. Joy Lachica to consider adjusting the park redevelopment plan was voted down 8-3 (with councillors Alex Bierk and Keith Riel voting in favour, alongside her — the rest voted against it).
Lachica mentioned, as she introduced her notice of motion, that she previously lived in New York City for six years.
She talked about how, in the 1960s — years before she lived there — NYC parks commissioner Robert Moses had advocated “to centralize the car,” in Lower Manhattan, while noted planner Jane Jacobs “fought for pedestrians … and accessibility.”
The proposed expressways for Lower Manhattan were never built, Lachica said: “It wasn’t meant to be, and the reason is because there was a fight for land use.”
Peterborough’s “a very different city,” Lachica went on, “but we’re talking about land use,” and “the loss of rare, downtown, open, precious green space.”
“This feels just as awful,” she said. As they listened, neighbours from time to time cheered for Lachica and booed Mayor Jeff Leal; Coun. Andrew Beamer, the chair of the meeting, had to eject one neighbour for shouting that the mayor ought to have recused himself from debate.
Later, one neighbour used her phone to broadcast a recording of loud pickleball noise while council voted; people in the gallery laughed when Beamer asked them to turn down the noise.
Is 16 pickleball courts within earshot going to be healthy for local residents within a densely populated area? JOY LACHICA COUNCILLOR
As they left the meeting, moments later, neighbours let their disappointment be known.
“Shame on you all!” one man shouted, on his way out.
The neighbours — who weren’t allowed to speak to council, Tuesday — used the recording to make a point about pickleball noise, which Lachica called “insufferable.”
“Is 16 pickleball courts within earshot going to be healthy for local residents within a densely populated area?” she asked in debate.
“Why are we hardscaping this? To create tournamentlevel pickleball? ... It makes no logical sense — no other cities are doing that.”
But Leal said the city’s trying to offer new ways for all citizens to get active.
Although Lachica had called Bonnerworth Park the wrong location for the courts — she said the former Naval Association property owned by the city (which she noted has 40 parking spots) would be better, for instance, because it would save “precious” Town Ward green space — Leal disagreed.
“It’s the right location — with parking,” Leal said, drawing loud groans from the neighbours in the gallery.
If it’s green space you’re looking for, Leal later said, try 200 metres away at Jackson Park, where there’s 50 acres of unspoiled nature.
Leal further warned that every time a project faces relocation, it creates construction delays. And with every delay, he said “the price goes up.”
That’s unnecessary spending here, he said, since “this (16 pickleball courts at Bonnerworth Park) is a very sound plan.”
Lachica further moved on Tuesday evening to add a couple of new considerations to her notice of motion, but that idea was voted down, too.
Lachica had proposed the city hold another meeting to consult with the area neighbours, and that both tennis and baseball be retained in Bonnerworth Park (tennis courts are planned for relocation to Knights of Columbus park, on Park Street North, while other ball diamonds at other parks are expected to be upgraded following the removal of the existing two at Bonnerworth).
Lachica’s motion to add those considerations lost 7-4: Bierk, Riel and Coun. Dave Haacke had voted in favour alongside Lachica (all of the other councillors voted against it).
Coun. Lesley Parnell, the parks co-chair, said the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment — complete with 16 pickleball courts — needs to move ahead.
“I will not be supporting any delay; we have to move forward ... or it will delay the whole project and cost us significantly,” she said.
And although Coun. Gary Baldwin, the other parks co-chair, said he thought a further consultation meeting with the neighbours was warranted, he said that pausing the project now “will make it difficult” to restart later.
Meanwhile the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment plan has been in the works since about 2018. That plan was approved unanimously by city council in October.
But councillors hadn’t yet seen the landscape architect’s proposed plans: the design was prepared and then unveiled at a public meeting March 21.
Coun. Keith Riel said Tuesday he regrets having voted without ever seeing a site plan: he estimated that the layout he saw at the public meeting March 21 showed two-thirds of Bonnerworth Park paved over with pickleball courts and parking.
Riel said he won’t vote on major projects again without seeing the layout.
Coun. Alex Bierk said he’d asked to see a layout prior to the vote in October, but was told he’d see it later. He expected he’d like it, when he saw it.
“I was naïve,” he said on Tuesday. “Over 50 per cent of the park is going to be paved,” he said, for use by “a very niche set of people.”
Not true, Leal had argued earlier. The mayor said it wouldn’t be “country club” people using the courts, but everyone.
“Let’s not get it twisted!” Bierk said. “I’m not against pickleball — Karan Leal’s going to lend me her racket! I love it,” Bierk added, at which point Leal interrupted him.
“Don’t mention my wife’s name,” he said, in a stern voice. “You crossed the line.”
Beamer then reminded council that relatives of other council members must never be mentioned in debate; although Bierk apologized, Leal continued to speak off-microphone, at one point saying, “You will regret you ever said that.”
“I just heard you say I’ll regret I ever said that?” Bierk asked him, as Beamer reminded council again not to mention names of other councillors’ relatives.
“I said a few times I take it back,” Bierk said.
Bierk spoke again, addressing the mayor: “I’m not going to be rushed into making a decision because of some imposed urgency ... I apologize (over the comment mentioning Karan) … I was defending the project.”
None of the concerned neighbours gave delegations at the meeting Tuesday. They will be allowed to speak at a city council meeting next Monday.