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In the face of public pressure and in the midst of one of this summer’s sweatiest heat waves, Coun. Diane Deans has asked city staff to examine how to expand Ottawa’s beach seasons.
The councillor submitted an inquiry to the Community and Protective Services Committee on Thursday, just days after this year’s 58-day beach season officially concluded. All beaches were open on only 43 of those days — a much shorter period than at nearby beaches managed by either the City of Gatineau or the National Capital Commission.
As the Citizen previously reported, Ottawa’s beach season runs annually from the third Saturday in June to the third Sunday in August. That means the length of each year’s beach season depends upon how the calendar happens to line up. The last couple beach seasons, for example, have been 58 days. But in 2016 it will be 65 days.
(Technically, city beaches are always open for the public to use at their own risk. Using the beach in the offseason, however, means no lifeguards on watch and no daily water quality tests to make sure it’s safe to swim in.)
Deans said the city has in the past week received “multiple requests” to extend the season.
“We had a heat wave this week and it sort of puts in the spotlight how short Ottawa’s summers usually are and how important it is to have beaches open, so we’ve heard from the public this week and I think we just need to look at what the options are,” she said.
“You have to get creative about how you might be able to best meet the public’s demands and at the same time manage it financially.”
According River ward Coun. Riley Brockington, the parks and recreation department has “sought funding to expand the season a few times” since 2001, but was halted by budget constraints.
If the city were to extend its beach seasons, it would have to incur the cost of daily water quality tests and keeping lifeguards and other staff on the payroll longer, among other expenditures.
Some of the options that were mentioned at Thursday’s meetings include opening the beaches on weekends only during early June and late summer, shift the season’s dates to better align with the school year and typical vacation time, or consider sponsorship opportunities.
The inquiry asks staff to provide the committee with options prior to 2016’s budget discussions.
afeibel@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/adamfeibel
查看原文...
The councillor submitted an inquiry to the Community and Protective Services Committee on Thursday, just days after this year’s 58-day beach season officially concluded. All beaches were open on only 43 of those days — a much shorter period than at nearby beaches managed by either the City of Gatineau or the National Capital Commission.
As the Citizen previously reported, Ottawa’s beach season runs annually from the third Saturday in June to the third Sunday in August. That means the length of each year’s beach season depends upon how the calendar happens to line up. The last couple beach seasons, for example, have been 58 days. But in 2016 it will be 65 days.
(Technically, city beaches are always open for the public to use at their own risk. Using the beach in the offseason, however, means no lifeguards on watch and no daily water quality tests to make sure it’s safe to swim in.)
Deans said the city has in the past week received “multiple requests” to extend the season.
“We had a heat wave this week and it sort of puts in the spotlight how short Ottawa’s summers usually are and how important it is to have beaches open, so we’ve heard from the public this week and I think we just need to look at what the options are,” she said.
“You have to get creative about how you might be able to best meet the public’s demands and at the same time manage it financially.”
According River ward Coun. Riley Brockington, the parks and recreation department has “sought funding to expand the season a few times” since 2001, but was halted by budget constraints.
If the city were to extend its beach seasons, it would have to incur the cost of daily water quality tests and keeping lifeguards and other staff on the payroll longer, among other expenditures.
Some of the options that were mentioned at Thursday’s meetings include opening the beaches on weekends only during early June and late summer, shift the season’s dates to better align with the school year and typical vacation time, or consider sponsorship opportunities.
The inquiry asks staff to provide the committee with options prior to 2016’s budget discussions.
afeibel@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/adamfeibel
查看原文...
