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Councillor wants city to move forward with covered rink

THUNDER BAY – At least one city councillor wants to see the city move ahead with building a covered rink at the North End Recreation Centre, despite estimated costs putting it at nearly a half-a-million-dollar project.
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(Matt Vis, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – At least one city councillor wants to see the city move ahead with building a covered rink at the North End Recreation Centre, despite estimated costs putting it at nearly a half-a-million-dollar project.

Earlier this year the city began taking bids on the project, which is estimated to cost between $300,000 and $500,000, with the hopes of beginning construction later this summer.

Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds said though some people might see a covered rink as a “nice to have” project, but he believes those kind of facilities are important assets.

“I think ‘nice to haves’ are critical for neighbourhoods, the strength of neighbourhoods and the strength of communities. They improve the quality of life,” he said.

“I don’t want to live in a city that just focuses on roads. Roads are important but I have children, at some point I hope I have grandchildren. I want to able to take them to somewhere that is safe where they can be active.”

A covered rink would protect the ice surface from the sun, potentially extending the skating season later into March.
It would also offer year round benefits.

“We’re known as a hockey town. That skating and ice hockey user ship is important in the winter but what really sells me about the covered rink proposal is the user ship in the summer,” Foulds said.

“Whether it’s ball hockey or you could do things like skateboarding, roller hockey and lacrosse. Then there’s that programmable space for young people that are perhaps supposed to be outside. When the weather isn’t great, they can go under there and do physical activities.”

He said the Huron Avenue recreation area is used by thousands of people each year, offering space for sports including hockey, soccer, baseball and volleyball along with playground equipment.

Well-utilized spaces need to be supported by the city, Foulds said.

“This neighbourhood, frankly, needs more investment. It was identified as an area deficient in recreation opportunities,” Foulds said.

“They were promised a splash pad five or six years ago. It’s still not here. I don’t know when that’s going to come back. I’m frustrated about this. This is an important piece of infrastructure for this neighbourhood.”

 





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