Residents planning to hold large scale events in Oakville’s Coronation Park will need to change those plans.

The town’s community services committee voted during its Jan. 21 meeting to no longer permit large scale special events at Coronation Park for 2019 with the exception of the Terry Fox Run and the Courage Polar Bear Dip.

This decision will come before Oakville council for approval Monday.

Some of the concern revolves around the prospect of the park being flooded or receiving flood damage as happened during the spring and summer of 2017.

The decision was also driven by the lack of parking available at the park, the park’s limited infrastructure and the worry that massive events that take over the bulk of the park prevent regular users from enjoying it.

Picnic permits for groups of less than 100 people and commercial film permits will still be issued on a shortened timeline of 60 days preceding the event.

Town staff pointed out the use of the park has not been renewed since 2005.

“Currently no 2019 event permits have been issued. Staff are recommending that due to future unknown lake levels, as well as the high level of use by casual park goers and small group picnic use that Coronation Park not be permitted for special events with the exception of two grandfathered large off-season events,” said Sarah Douglas-Murray, the town’s senior manager of cultural services.

Have your say

She pointed out the Terry Fox Run and the Courage Polar Bear Dip are both longstanding community events that occur outside of the peak community use and picnic season.

Douglas-Murray also said Coronation Park is the most suitable location for these events.

The Oakville Children’s Festival, which was previously held in the park, was moved to the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in 2017 due to flooding at the park.

It was held there again in 2018 because of continued flooding concerns and repair work taking place in the park.

Town staff are recommending the festival continue to be held at the cultural centre as it provides both indoor and outdoor facilities to accommodate weather issues and the costs are the same.

They are also recommending that the Oakville Half Marathon no longer involve Coronation Park.

Douglas-Murray said the current route, which starts and finishes in Coronation Park, requires a significant number of paid duty police officers to close roads and monitor intersections and will need to change to accommodate the Lakeshore Rd. construction project.

The use of the waterfront stage was also discussed in the report.

Town staff are recommending that requests to use the stage only be considered if feasible and when they meet several conditions including:

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The use of the waterfront stage be for a music or performing arts event

The event has minimal impact on the local community

The event is free and open to all community members

That no noise exemptions are required

That a parking and traffic management plan that addresses the expected attendance is provided and signed off on by town staff.

Town staff noted the elimination of most large events in the park due to flood damage restoration work in 2018 led to higher levels of casual use and a reduction of negative impacts arising from large park events on the local community.

In the past, town staff said residents living near the park have complained during large events about the noise, the resulting traffic and about parking spilling onto surrounding streets because there is not enough parking at the park.

Ward 2 Town and Regional Councillor Cathy Duddeck said she had concerns about the proposed restrictions.

“That stage was built through donations from the community with the purpose of being utilized,” she said. “It seems counter-productive to have that stage sitting there and not be used.”

Duddeck noted there is a noise issue just in the regular use of the park and suggested noise issues with regard to musical performances on the stage could be dealt with by preventing performances later than 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

“I just don’t want to see us pigeonholed to the point where no one can use the park for anything other than these two events or a small picnic,” said Duddeck.

Ultimately the committee voted to move ahead with the park large scale event restrictions, but with the condition that the matter be revisited in one year.

Read more about: