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Parks in Okotoks will now be closing one hour earlier.
Town council approved a bylaw amendment at its Aug. 17 meeting to change the closing times of most parks from 12:01 a.m. to 11:01 p.m., with the exception of Beatrice Wyndham Park, the skateboard park and Hughes Park, which will all close at 10:01 p.m.
The change in closure times was implemented after Okotoks Municipal Enforcement and the RCMP received 14 complaints between June and August, 2020.
“When we reviewed those complaints we found the majority were people using a park for the intended purpose but that purpose, whether it’s basketball or pickleball, is disturbing the residents beside the park,” said Peter Stapley, manager of Okotoks Municipal Enforcement.
Many of the complaints had come from a seniors’ residence next to a basketball court at Hughes Park, on Woodgate Road.
Taking that into consideration, Hughes Park was changed from closing at midnight to 10 p.m., in line with Beatrice Wyndham Park and the skateboard park, where the same closure time was already in place.
The park closure times do not apply to people walking along pathways, holding an event in a park with a rental agreement or people camping in Lions Campground, said Stapley.
A public survey was conducted earlier in August to gauge resident opinion on park times, he said. Out of 635 respondents, 58 per cent were in support of the change, 40 per cent didn’t want to see earlier closure times, and two per cent indicated they would prefer to have times changed only for specific parks rather than across the board.
When asked what time parks should close, 45 per cent said 10 p.m., 37 per cent said midnight and 18 per cent chose 11 p.m., he said.
“We did give consideration to opening and closing at different times,” said Stapley. “We felt it was better to have a consistent time for all parks.”
Regardless of closure times, he said OME officers will still watch for illegal activity in open spaces.
“It’s the people doing illicit behaviours or the unwanted behaviours that would cause issues and could possibly cause a public safety concern, such as the fires in the park,” said Stapley.
Mayor Bill Robertson said the OME response to public concern over the use of parks was appropriate.
“We’re all in this together and we want people, kids in particular, to be recreated,” said Robertson. “I like the idea of the compromises you’ve made, in particular looking for the illegal, illicit activities.”
Coun. Ed Sands agreed, noting he strongly supported OME keeping on eye on park use and ensuring people are being respectful of neighbourhoods.
“I would certainly understand folks living adjacent to these parks can have their sleep interfered with and again it kind of comes down to people abusing a privilege, or perhaps abusing a right,” said Sands.
Coun. Matt Rockley opposed the new closure time for Town parks, arguing 11 p.m. is too early, especially during summer months.
Living near green spaces, he said it’s not unheard of to see people using parks later in the evening for dog-walking and other innocent purposes. It would be better to address specific parks where problems are occurring rather than closing all parks an hour earlier, he said.
“If people want to go and watch a meteor shower in the park space past 11 p.m. I don’t think the Town of Okotoks, as a governing body, should limit peoples’ ability to do that in a public space,” said Rockley. “I think park usage is a nuanced thing and a very personal thing to the people who do it and I think closing for everybody at 11 p.m., closing all parks in Okotoks at 11 p.m. is heavy-handed.”
