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8- The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 7, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com North Park plan has many benefits for community Continued from page 7 Park project (phase 1) and we fully support the concept and site plan as pre- sented. North Park will not only help reduce the shortage of fields, it is a concept that provides numerous advantages to the community. Here are some of the key aspects that need to be considered: ·North Park will not replace or eliminate the need for community soccer fields that will be within walking / biking distance for families. Soccer fields in neighbourhood parks are still very much needed and planned for North Oakville; ·The soccer fields planned for North Park will not be adjacent to residences but will serve as a buffer zone with the Natural Heritage Boundary surrounding the creek (West) as well as the Cemetery (South) and the old regional landfill site (North /East); · North Park will feature the latest generation of environmentally-friendly artificial turf fields with lights to increase the usage capacity by almost 150 per cent; · Artificial turf fields will contribute to reducing the "soccer field footprint" that would be required by natural grass fields to provide the same hours of play (consider the cost of land in Oakville) as well as the use of water; · Lights and parking inconveniences are an ongoing issue with community parks / soccer fields that back onto residences. North Park would help reduce such irritants without, in fairness, eliminating it entirely; · Unstructured activities have been restricted in all the Oakville community parks as a result of the shortage of soccer fields to accommodate the scheduled 8,000 games each year. Adding practice / training sessions is a major problem; · The Club would also like to see more kids and families being able to take part in "pick-up" games and other spontaneous activities; · North Park will help accommodate some of the adult league play (they are also an important part of healthy communities) later in the evenings, without disturbing neighbouring residents; · The Club has cancelled the hosting of its largest tournaments over the past three years as the facility capacity in Oakville could not sustain (wear and tear associated with intensive use) such events, affecting the economic impact of such events for the local businesses; · The possible addition of a high school on the North Park site will provide opportunities to develop "sport and study" programs in a unique "sport campus" setting; · A network of trails for walking and biking are an important part of the design of North Park and more walking will be required to get to the different fields. · We see ourselves as responsible citizens of Oakville, and reinforce in all our members a sense of pride and stewardship in their community. Oakville's success and our success go hand in hand. North Park will be one of those quality facilities that will define Oakville. NEIL M. BROWN, PRESIDENT, OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB JEAN C. GANDUBERT, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB Let's hope logic prevails at school board Re: Parents aim to be heard by Board, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 22 Let us only hope that the trustees will not be so easily swayed by signs and short-sighted advertisements like the PARC committee was. Hopefully they will resort to logic and have the children's best interests as the gilding factor when their time comes to vote. They also might want to revisit the original goals of the PARC committee: walking distance to a local school, sustainability and fairness for all parents, which seemed to have been ignored. PETER ROBBINS Annual 16th April 25-27, 2008 International Centre Hall 5, 6900 Airport Road at Derry Road Mississauga, Ontario FREE PARKING! Yum! · See Canadian Living Live! · Visit Food Network Get Cooking! Stage Anthony Sedlak host of "The Main" HOURS: Fri: 12 noon-8 pm, Sat: 10 am-8 pm, Sun: 10 am-5 pm ADMISSION: (including taxes) · Adults: $12 · Seniors (65+): $11 · Kids under 12 free! (when accompanied by an adult) INFO: www.goodfoodfestival.com SAVOUR hundreds of FREE food & drink samples DISCOVER thousands of new foods and related products ENJOY 150+ FREE cooking shows, hands-on lessons, nutrition talks and delicious tastings on 5 non-stop stages! · Enter Canada's Best Fudge Recipe Contest · Natural & Organic Foods, Wellness & Health Visit website! SPONSORED BY: