City Council proposes new parks, one downtown, one in Jamestown

New parks or play areas in the James Street and downtown areas could be Sault Ste. Marie's initial response to the opioid crisis revealed in the recent W5/Vice Canada documentary Steel Town Down.

City councillors directed staff on Monday night to come up with recommendations for the new green spaces.

"I'm not in any way suggesting that we're going to solve the problem by adding green space," said Ward 3 Councillor Matthew Shoemaker, who pitched the idea to council.

"We won't. It's a multi-pronged issue," Shoemaker said.

"I do think what the documentary of W5 showed was that there is a lack of recreational activity in Jamestown."

Health care is a provincial responsibility and outside the city's mandate, Shoemaker said.

But parks and recreation are wholly within municipal control.

Shoemaker said geographical information system (GIS) data show that "from Dennis to Pim Street and from Wellington to the water, everyone that lives in that area lives more than 700 metres away from the nearest park."

Most housing units downtown are rented by people who don't have access to yards.

Some councillors were concerned Monday night that city staff are already working on proposals for new green spaces as part of a reworking of the official plan, but recommendations from that work aren't expected until the third quarter of 2018.

Shoemaker wanted action sooner than that.

"It's time the council makes this a priority," he said. "Frankly, if it has been worked on, it's taking too long in my opinion. Let's direct our staff to get through it, and to bring us a report back."

Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland said we need more than just green space, we need recreational opportunities.

"We have all kinds of green space, but it's got to be re-purposed. Nobody is playing in our green spaces anymore. We know where they're playing. They're playing in the house on their data machines or whatever," Butland said.

Ward 5 Councillor Frank Fata took advantage of the discussion to again call for the sale of some city parks.

"Sault Ste. Marie already has 76 parks and as many as a dozen of them could be closed and sold," Fata said.

Councillors nonetheless voted eight to four in favour of Shoemaker's ideas.

City staff are expected to now develop a revitalization plan for James Street, including conversion of unused green space, possible expansion of Anna Marinelli Park, possible use of James Street as a public space, and creation of a park or green space downtown.

"I'm going to be bringing more resolutions on this issue. I encourage fellow councillors to bring more resolutions on this issue," Shoemaker said.