SAULT STE. MARIE -- With temperatures rising, Saultites might soon have trouble finding a place to spend their free time outdoors.
The city of Sault Ste. Marie will consider shutting down its local parks, in an attempt to stop COVID-19 from spreading.
"The weather is getting nice out and I’m sure plenty of parents will want to take their children out to burn some energy," said City Councillor Matthew Shoemaker. "Parks present a perfect place for the spread of the virus, because kids are in close proximity to each other on playground equipment."
Shoemaker first asked the question during a city council meeting March 22.
The city’s CAO, Malcolm White, responded by saying staff will look into it.
"There are other municipalities that are already starting to close parks," White said. "We can certainly follow their example."
According to the city’s website, Sault Ste. Marie is home to 74 parks. That presents the challenge of choosing which parks to close and how to enforce closure.
"Yeah, I think that’s something we need an answer to," said Shoemaker. "I mean, do we station security officers, police officers in the parks? You don’t want to do that, necessarily."
The city of London, Ont. closed its playgrounds, skate parks and multi-use courts March 24.
In B.C., Metro Vancouver has done the same, while St. John’s Newfoundland has shut down all of its parks across the city.
