NEW RULES FOR THE BEACH
City taking extra safety measures
Splash pads will be opening but not city pools, team sports can use playing fields for training but not for games, and many city hall counter services will resume but by appointment only.
The reopening of hundreds of City of Windsor facilities and services — shut down by the COVID -19 pandemic three months ago — will be cautious and measured, officials said Tuesday.
“Shutting down city operations, that was the easy part and as we’ve gone through the last 100-plus days, we know that reopening will be more difficult, more complicated, and certainly more complex,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said during a news conference, describing how for weeks administration and city council have been working on a reopening plan. That kicked into high gear last week when Premier Doug Ford made the sudden announcement that Windsor-essex could graduate into Stage 2 of reopening the economy.
“In the weeks ahead we will be reopening our services as quickly as we can while making the adjustments required to offer as much protection as we can,” Dilkens said.
The city has about 1,100 staff still doing their jobs at their normal locations, with 400 working from home, 50 redeployed to other tasks and about 650 primarily part-time temporary staff on layoff. The reopening of services will require calling back many of these employees.
The reopenings include:
■ Many in-person counter services will resume July 6, for such things as marriage licences, taxation help, permit applications and licensing, but by appointment only with social distancing and screening measures in place.
■ Seven of nine city splash pads will open some time between July 8 and July 13, but with temporary fencing and staff on hand to enforce social distancing. The two splash pads not opening are at Remington Booster Park and Kimmy Lucier in Mic Mac Park (another larger splash pad is nearby).
■ Sandpoint Beach, the only beach in the region with lifeguards, will open on or before Aug. 4. The delay is needed to train staff in new social distancing protocols, install fencing and make other preparations. There have already been concerns about overcrowding at beaches in the county, but the city is hoping that with lifeguards on the scene any overcrowding problems can be prevented.
■ Day camps will be offered at only two locations, the WFCU Centre and Capri Pizzeria Complex, and only for five weeks from Aug. 4 to Sept. 4, for children ages three to 14. The activities will be modified to avoid physical contact and to group kids into smaller pods. Registration
will run from July 2-12 to see if there’s enough demand. Go online at activewindsor.ca or call 519-966-6065.
■ At city parks, playground structures and outdoor fitness equipment must remain closed under provincial regulations for Stage 2, but teams can use sports fields for training purposes only. The city will also issue permits for small gatherings such as weddings and picnics.
But indoor recreation and culture facilities will remain closed, including Willistead Manor. Also, city pools, both indoor and outdoor, will be closed. Jan Wilson, corporate leader for parks and recreation, said an analysis concluded that a traditional open swim would be impossible under current COVID precautions. People would have to register to swim at scheduled times and many of the usual pool activities would have to be outlawed.
“We determined it wasn’t appropriate at this time,” to open pools, she said.
The mayor said opening pools will be revisited when the province allows the city to move to Stage 3.
With pools as well as air-conditioned community centres closed, Windsor Fire Chief Stephen Laforet said the city will need to adjust how it responds on high-heat days. That plan still needs to be finalized, but he said. “We have to look to the community to support the elderly and anyone who’s vulnerable to the heat, because no matter what plan we put out, we’re going to be challenged with capacity.”
The mayor said improving Transit Windsor service — which currently is operating on a reduced Sunday schedule — isn’t possible at this point.
Because Transit Windsor isn’t collecting fares (passengers enter by the rear door to avoid close contact with the driver), it’s losing $125,000 per week.
Dilkens also said he hopes to see city council meetings — which are being streamed online, with members of the public sending emails to express their opinions rather than appearing as delegations — going back to normal some time this summer, though that will depend on provincial public gathering rules.