Recreation Facility Infrastructure Standards and Strategy

Free parking.

Rec. facilities need to be nearby, easy to access and offer elements that are otherwise not available to a population, ie. pools and arenas.

If we want to promote a healthy and active society while working to protect our environment, we need to maintain small, community-based, easily accessible recreation facilities that offer elements that appeal to nearby families, residents and schools. Learning to swim and skate are essential skills and important to Ottawa citizens, both young and old. (Elements such as parking, storage, canteens, and fitness, less so, as they are available through other/private options). I will work to see that the City keep small, local facilities like Tom Brown arena open, and continue to add facilities such as pools, field-houses and gyms, as deemed necessary by growth and densification in the city of Ottawa. We must not close these small, local facilities thinking that fewer / larger "super-facilities" will serve as replacements.

I would like all outdoor courts/fields etc to have seating for watching people participate. In LA watching fellow citizens is a nice thing.

Indoor and outdoor skateboard/bike/scooter facilities

These sports are growing exponentially (skateboarding will be at the Olympics in 2020). Often the space at the current parks is taken up by adults, and kids get little time to practice safely themselves without getting in the way. It would be great to see skate-infra built into every rec centre and park plan - to spread people out across the city and allow kids to practice in their neighbourhoods, rather than have to be driven to downtown parks or parks in Orleans, Nepean, and Kanata. A city-run indoor park would also be ideal.

Integration with OHS Dog Friendly Program/Dog Park

As per Ottawa's Humane Societies Dog Friendly Program: https://ottawahumane.ca/services/dog-friendly-business-program/ Goal to promote pet-friendly attitudes in the community. Integrate positive family (dog inclusive) park (like mcNabb park) that allows the entire family to enjoy the outdoors. May also include a simple agility setup for outdoor training.

Indoor soccer fields

Too many baseball diamonds and not enough soccer fields.

Too many parking spots

Less parking/more expensive would be better. - Self driving technology, if possible, won't need parking as badly - parking can interfere with things like bike lanes - parklets would be a better use, the visually appealing nature benefits human health - more expensive parking / less parking decreases societies dependence on cars, which is environmentally friendly. Even if one doesn't believe in global warming, smog can still happen obvious some parking must continue to exist Citations: i don't want to be flagged as spam for posting external links, so here's just 1: look up: "the high cost of free parking" by vox.

Varied/diverse facilities to encourage Ottawa-ans on the go

I'd be interested in facilities and classes that accommodate Ottawa residents' varied schedules, and maybe even encourage them to take up new sports. I've always thought stuff like yoga and parkour looked cool, but have either been to busy to take a class or haven't had facilities to try safely. Weight-training facilities are always a plus, too.

Facility design and requirements are too focused on team sports

Soccer, tennis, basketball, and hockey are great, but many people prefer cultivating individual sports such as track and field, dance, yoga, parkour, gymnastics, or martial arts. It is difficult to find safe, open spaces (even just an outdoor track or an empty room somewhere) to practice these sports by yourself and not in a class. When you can't find space for the sports you want to do, it's frustrating to see so many group sports facilities (rinks, pitches, etc.) that sit empty when not used by teams. Please take this into consideration when designing new facilities, and leave some open spaces for people who like to move but don't play on a team.