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Council votes against sanctioning of tobogganing hills and to maintain satus quo

Councillors voted against the sanctioning of three toboggan hills
Tash Sledding others 2
Sledding on 'Deadman's Hill' behind St. Jean de Brebeuf school.

In Tuesday night's meeting of town council, councillors unanimously voted to maintain the status quo when it comes to toboggan hills in Bradford, dismissing a staff report recommendation to sanction only three hills for tobogganing. 

The rules surrounding tobogganing on town property have been a hot topic of late, not only due to the current provincial COVID-19 lockdown and the increase in outdoor activity among residents, but concerns about liability.

Last month a Bradford mother was severely injured on 'Deadman's Hill' at Fuller Heights Park when her toboggan struck a hydro tower, prompting the town to reevaluate the use of the hill for recreational activities. 

Town staff produced a report to council suggesting the sanctioning of only three hills for the sport - Davey Lookout, Henderson Park and Green Valley Park - and excluding Deadman's Hill, which would be closed to tobogganing.

The suggestion stirred a strong response from residents. In the Open Forum portion of the meeting, six residents wrote in to plead for the preservation of existing toboggan runs.

"Please keep the hills open for sledding in Bradford. Families and kids need outside activity especially now when kids don't have school or much else," read a letter from residents Brenda and Barry Rogers. 

One resident was upset that the issue was being considered by council, calling it a waste of time and adding, "Shame on you for even bringing this forward."

Later in the meeting, councillors Ron Orr and Jonathan Scott pointed out that the discussion is not a waste of time, and the issue needs to be addressed. 

"I hope our residents understand that this is our job, when something happens, to discuss these things," said Coun. Orr, who supported keeping the status quo. 

"If we can mitigate the risk and balance the equities, I think there is a reasonable approach here," said Coun. Scott. "It is our responsibility to look out for the town as a whole, including the taxpayer from any potential litigation."

Coun. Peter Dykie, whose Ward includes Fuller Heights Park, said that he had received three emails and two phone calls from residents requesting that Deadman's Hill remain open for public use. 

"This has always been used as a 'ski' hill," said Dykie, calling for better signage and asking that the town work with Ontario Hydro to improve safety.

"It’s always been a challenging area of our municipality. As long as residents use common sense I support toboggan hills," he said.

Coun. Peter Ferragine agreed. 

"I was just interested in leaving it status quo," Ferragine said, objecting to the idea of "sanctioning" some hills, which he argued would create more work for town staff, in terms of monitoring. 

"You're specifically picking hills - none of which is Fuller Heights Park, which is going to be used regardless," he noted. "I don't think we should be sanctioning the hills...We can put up our signs for risk mitigation."

Coun. Mark Contois suggested that sanctioning certain hills would also cause problems with parking. 

"When we start promoting certain hills, now you are promoting more parking where those hills are and have residents peeved," Contois said.  "I am okay with status quo and looking after our signage and basically making sure we cover our butts," with regards to litigation.

Coun. Raj Sandhu noted that times have changed. "As young kids, we used to be out all the time. We fell down, we got hurt, we got back up, we went home...we went out again," Sandhu said. Now, litigation is top of mind - which is why the issue needs to be discussed at the municipal level, he said. 

"I'm not in favour of banning anything," Sandhu said. "We can't take away the things people enjoy." He noted that a recent report from South Simcoe Police identified a 39 percent increase in mental health phone calls; taking away the tobogganing hills or restricting use at this time would not be a good idea. 

"I would like to see that we keep it open. Sign it, people use at own risk," he said. "People also need to grow up and take some responsibility and be careful." 

"Sign the heck out of it," agreed Coun. Gary Lamb, proposing that in future, the town design outdoor spaces for recreational activities like tobogganing. "I really don't want bylaw enforcement out there running around, because they have better things to do."

Coun. Scott added that it is more important than ever to provide opportunities for outdoor activity. "The more we can do to help young families and not add to their stress, the better," he said. 

Director of Corporate Services Rebecca Murphy noted the situation at Fuller Heights Park, which extends from St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Elementary School to W.H. Day Elementary at the bottom of the hill, is unique. The park includes a Hydro One transmission tower corridor, and Hydro One has indicated that it does not want tobogganing on its easement, which extends 50 feet (about 15 metres) on either side of the towers. 

New signage can mention that the hill is neither sanctioned nor supervised, but she suggested that the municipality will also have to invest in mitigation, that could range from planting trees to define the hydro corridor, to changes to the grade.

"There probably needs to be some money spent on some of those mitigation measures because of the way the hill was left," said Murphy. "The town, as owner of the property, will have to do a little bit of work to mitigate," but Hydro One also bears some responsibility - " Yes, they are also on the hook," said Murphy - which is why the utility has agreed to work with the municipality. 

The town will be conducting a technical review and landscaping plan with Hydro One this spring and summer, Murphy said. 

"We need to mitigate the risk of injuries," agreed Deputy Mayor James Leduc. "It's time we actually set aside a budget and figure out how to make it a safe hill to toboggan on... In the end, it's obviously going to be our problem." The hydro towers are not moving, "so we have to figure out how to deal with them," he said.

Councillors decided to withdraw the original recommendation and instead voted to maintain the status quo, directing staff to proceed with mitigation as discussed, which includes the installation of warning signage, and working with Hydro One. 


Natasha Philpott

About the Author: Natasha Philpott

Natasha is the Editor for BradfordToday and InnisfilToday. She graduated from the Media Studies program at The University of Guelph-Humber. She lives in Bradford with her husband, two boys and two cats.
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