By Galen Simmons
The Town of St. Marys will apply for federal funding to revitalize an underutilized park downtown in the hopes of turning it into an accessible picnicking destination that would benefit restaurants without outdoor patios.
At the Sept. 10 town council meeting, councillors unanimously endorsed a plan to apply for as much as $30,000 in FedDev Ontario funding towards upgrades to Lind Park at the corner of Jones Street East and Church Street South. According to the report presented to council by tourism and economic development manager Kelly Deeks-Johnson, Lind Park is an underutilized space despite its prime location just a block from Queen Street in downtown St. Marys.
“The concept is simply to enhance Lind Park, which is just on the edge of our downtown, to be more of a spot for picnic and benches etc.,” Deeks-Johnson said. “Currently, the park itself has two round tables with four seats, a bench and a lot of grass. It’s also home to the Arthur Meighen (Canada’s ninth prime minister) statue and two of the sapling trees that came from Parliament Hill way back when that are growing next to the statue itself.
“The vision came from discussions with some of our downtown, local eateries who don’t have patios to offer and would like to enhance the picnicking areas within St. Marys and predominately closer to downtown. That spot seems like a really underutilized, great location that people can pick up a lunch and go and enjoy the park.”
In addition to benefiting the local economy, upgrades will enhance the park’s accessibility, making it a more inclusive space. The park is also situated near the town-hall public washrooms, increasing its potential as a convenient and inviting destination. Deeks-Johnson said the inclusion of low-maintenance gardens, picnic tables (including accessible tables), benches, bike racks, shrubs, trees and walkways will create a serene environment perfect for reading, eating and socializing.
While Deeks-Johnson said her project proposal prioritizes making the park as accessible as possible – a notion backed by every member of council – she said the budget, which council gave pre-budget approval for $35,000 through the 2025 capital budget on top the potential FedDev Ontario funding, includes funding for a design plan that will help determine the best way to make the park accessible.
“I drove by there today and the whole area of the park is kind of on an incline,” Coun. Marg Luna said. “To get into it, someone with a wheelchair or pushing a walker would have to go up and around to Jones Street to come in if they couldn’t do the stairs. I’m just concerned about the accessibility part of the whole thing and how you think you can address that.”
“The plan will help us address that,” Deeks-Johnson responded. “That’s why I think at this point I can’t say (it will be) fully accessible because fully accessible has very (specific) meanings, but at this point there is a flat-surface area from Jones Street to come into the park. There is a slope there for sure, and I identify that, so I can’t say whether or not that will be fully addressed, but there will be that entrance and we will definitely be looking at that.”
With council fully behind Deeks-Johnson’s proposal, Coun. Jim Craigmile even went as far as suggesting the town do everything in its power to make Lind Park fully accessible, even if that means increasing the proposed budget – something Deeks-Johnson said she will keep in mind as the project moves forward.
“I’m getting a sense there’s a strong feeling that’s supportive of the project,” Mayor Al Strathdee said. “The other reality is there have been members of the public (who) supported this park before through donations. I think that could be something we look into again as well. The Lind family has supported quite significantly the upkeep of that park, so that’s something we could explore as well just to (expand) the budget. There’s a lot of wish here for little money, but you’re not unused to that.
“But I’m getting the feeling there is a lot of support from council for upgrading that park, so we may have to have more conversations but … I think the reality of getting a grant proposal on track is important as well.”
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