A splash pad, an all-wheels skate park and new trees are just some of the amenities, city officials have planned for the new Arrowdale Community Park.
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But while some people are still lamenting the loss of a municipally-owned golf course, others are looking forward to the new park.
“This is awesome and finally great to see it happen for the community. It will be a fantastic place for kids, especially little kids and families of all ages will be able to enjoy this area and still slide,” Roxanne Shepherd said in a social media post.
“The kids will love it,” Kelli-Lynn Ives said in her post. “Glad they are using (it) as a park not condos like they originally wanted.”
Kailee Poisson, however, said plans still call for more than 750 (housing) units to be squished into the other two-thirds of green space on the property.
“This decision is far from a win when we’re losing 32 acres of vital inner city green space,” she said.
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Poisson was one of many people who fought the city’s sale of the former nine-hole municipal golf course to Elite MD in 2020 for $14 million. Proceeds from the sale are to be used to construct affordable housing in the city.
Elite MD is planning a major housing development on 32 acres of the 49-acre former golf course property.
The city will use the remaining 17 acres for what’s being billed as the “largest new community park to be built in Brantford in over 100 years.”
The new park will include, among other things: an accessible playground; 1,700 meters of nature trails and a dedicated parking lot off Rawdon Street; a park building with two universal washrooms; shade structures, bicycle racks and more than 150 new trees and shrubs.
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Also included are a multi-use court, cycling trails, gardens, picnic areas and a venue for events like “movies in the park.”
Construction will begin soon and be completed by August 2025.
Told of the city’s plans, Joe Heck was more concerned about the Arrowdale Dog Park.
“It all sounds nice but I don’t have young kids so the park doesn’t really matter much to me,” Heck said during a Tuesday visit to the park with his Australian shepherd dog, Loki. “All I really care about is the dog park here.
“Loki is my child and we both really like this dog park.”
The dog park will remain open in its current location during construction, city officials say.
Jacob Mowat lives on Rawdon Street across from Arrowdale.
“I wish they would have left it as a golf course,” Mowat said. “I used to enjoy sitting on my front porch watching people play the seventh hole.
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“On the bright side, at least something is being done.”
Mowat remembers how awful it looked when there were security cameras and a fence around the park.
Patty Somers lives on Elgin Street, across from the dog park.
“I supported keeping it as a golf course,” Somers, who has lived in her Elgin Street home for 15 years, said. “It has been a golf course for decades and it should have stayed that way.”
The city’s plans include Indigenous elements in partnership with local First Nations.
“I sure hope they do something nice,” Marion Vermeersch, an Elgin Street resident, said. “I hope they do something that recognizes Indigenous people in a way that Indigenous people would appreciate.”
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