Some St. Albert parents are eager to let their little ones expend pent-up energy at playgrounds, but the city is remaining firm in keeping them roped off.
On Monday, city council decided to extend all existing closures and cancellations of city facilities for as long as a health order from Alberta's chief medical officer of health (CMOH) Dr. Deena Hinshaw remains in effect. Before debating the move, local parent Dana Popadynetz pleaded for council to reopen outdoor play structures.
“When the city elected to close those structures, it took away my option as a parent to weigh the risks and benefits of taking my kids to the park, and I think we can all agree children need physical activity,” said Popadynetz, who has an eight-year-old, a five-year-old and a 10-month old.
He called St. Albert’s decision to close playgrounds March 25 a “knee-jerk” reaction and noted other municipalities in the province have opted to keep playgrounds open.
According to the public health order guiding St. Albert’s COVID-19 restrictions – CMOH Order 02/2020 – all public recreation facilities are to remain closed. That includes, but is not limited to, municipal recreation centres, gyms, museums, casinos, swimming pools and children’s play centres.
While the Alberta COVID-19 website does not get into specifics around playgrounds, under a risk assessment guide, Albertans are discouraged from participating in activities that involve contact with frequently touched surfaces.
Mayor Cathy Heron told Popadynetz the city reached out to Alberta Health Services for advice on playgrounds, and St. Albert was told if playgrounds were opened, frequent cleaning and stringent physical distancing would be required.
The measures would be “difficult” and “expensive,” city staff said.
“We want them open. I get emails from young single moms – they’re going crazy. We want to open them as soon as possible; we just need to figure out when,” Heron said.
As to the rest of city facilities, a lengthy discussion ensued about St. Albert’s own relaunch strategy, after Alberta released its plan for reopening last week.
Council agreed the city should tie its own reopening of buildings and services to CMOH Order 02/2020 as amendments to that document happen. St. Albert’s emergency advisory committee was also given authority to increase or decrease restrictions, as long as they are in line with recommendations from Hinshaw.
Much of the order is open to interpretation and includes language such as “including but not limited to,” which some members of council expressed frustration with.
Coun. Jacquie Hansen noted the CMOH order is “very conservative” since it covers an entire province, and asked city legal staff what St. Albert can start doing independent of the public order.
“I think that we in a way need to start taking the pulse of own community and finding out when they’re ready to take some steps,” she said. Hansen noted amendments to the public health order are happening, but perhaps not “fast enough” for what’s happening in St. Albert.
Coun. Sheena Hughes expressed severe concern with the strategy, saying St. Albert is heaping everything under “the largest umbrella,” and that she feels “like we’re punishing people.”
“I’m going to say yes to this because there is no real alternate motion to this, but I don’t think this 02/20 (health order) needed to be such an umbrella on the delay of making decisions,” Hughes said. “We’re saying we’re doing this to speed things up, but when I read these motions, I interpret it to be the opposite.”
More details on what is and is not allowed can be found at St. Albert’s website.
