There is a misconception that “the naysayers”, ( taxpayers) are opposed to a bike skills park.
I believe that the issue is, not in John Philips’ Memorial park, next to residential homes in a park which is for everyone.
The idea that children need a place to play is much overused. We have a skateboard park for extreme sports, which is for the most part a headache for policing and CRD Parks for repairs. We have a swimming pool, which was supposed to give the children something to do as well as an ice rink.
How much do we do for the children? We live in the center of a lovely wild natural setting. How about dads and moms taking their children into the lovely natural parks? How about taking a mountain bike up Harbourview Park?
Now there is a challenge. Perhaps, the Mountain bike club should be approaching the CRD/TLC as their decision was to only allow bikes and hikers into this park.
There is a bike washing station there, a great parking lot, water, and public washrooms. Build the bike skills park here. Residents won’t be affected and all the amenities are already there.
CRD has given approval for an ATV to the Fire Dept., specifically for this area. Why not build on this? There is a bike skills park at the arena, built by the bike club years ago. Larry Hutchings from the arena has no objections to the bike park being updated and refurbished.
Let’s look at options other than a $300,000 expenditure and $15,000 per year maintainance on a Beacon Hill type park. Baseball and soccer players are the largest users of the sports fields and activities in Sooke, yet there has been no help to bring the fields up to a good standard. The fields are so wet that 50 per cent or more of soccer games and practices need to be cancelled.
The $3,600 for bike skills design work would have been better spent to put in drainage on the fields. There is also a dire need for parking and a need for more baseball fields. Council members were all elected to be fiscally responsible, not politically popular.
We need to protect our children for the future and this means not saddling them with debts that can never be repaid. Future generation will not be able to go out and play in our forests as they, like their parents today, spend the majority of their time working to make ends meet. Be responsible and respect our future.
Ellen Lewers,
Sooke