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Editorial: Let the users play for their play

District of Sooke is not responsible to provide recreation for everyone

Bikes, horseshoes and dogs continue to plague city hall. Everybody wants something and they want the district to pay for it.

Case number one. The bike skills park which has split our community is a great idea, but, the proponents don’t have any money. They will have to apply for grants to get anywhere near their vision and with the scarcity of grant funding these days, they may not achieve their monetary commitments. So that would leave the district to pay for the park, the maintenance, and the upkeep. That was not the idea in the original proposal. So, if the district is paying for it, then they have the right to say where it will be located. Period. If the bike club wants things their way, then let them find/fund their own patch of ground.

Case number two. The horseshoe club, which doesn’t appear to have a lot of members, wants a piece of the pie, (park) as well. They may have the funds to put up and maintain the pitches, but the buildings they propose would be permanent and it would stick out like a sore thumb in John Phillips Memorial Park.

Case number three. The doggies. They need walking and they need a place to lose their load. Owners don’t want it in their back yard, but it’s okay to have it left in a doggy park. We already have a problem with people not picking up after their pets, now they will have a sanctioned place just for that purpose.

If people want the district to pay out of pocket or through labour for these amenities then the district has the right to dictate where, when, how and why.  Recreation and the outdoors is crucial for our health and well being, but so is common sense. The taxpayers would be sponsoring these proposals, so they have every right to have their say as well. Let’s just be sensible with an eye on the costs now and in the future.