Letter to the Editor
Editor,
The Georgian Bay Coyotes is a ‘AAA’ track club that began in August 2010 with a handful of local runners. We have now exploded to almost 80 members, some who are recreational and many are highly competitive on a provincial to national scale.
Our kids that we coach range from Grade 2 to high school, the majority reside in the municipality of Meaford, with several travelling from Collingwood to South Bruce Peninsula Shores and south to Durham.
Each winter from late November to early April we struggle with slippery and icy road conditions, with numerous kids falling on the icy roads. Two other issues we deal with are no washroom facilities on a year-round basis and road rage mostly the winter months.
For years we have moved around town looking for quiet back roads that are well plowed and salted, as well as being well lit and safe from vehicles. Tuesday nights are toughest as we also combat against darkness during the winter. It is mandatory that all our runners wear reflective vests so they are easily visible.
Despite our efforts, each winter we are in competition with road rage from a few drivers. Last winter on Ivan Street, we had a few situations with drivers wailing on their horns and yelling at our coaches as well as our young kids. One person even expressed their ‘road rage finger’ at a few of our younger kids, which upset them to tears. On Coleman Street the traffic flow continues to increase with the new subdivision being built. Although the majority of drivers are very understanding, there are those select few who think they are at the Indy 500 and have very little consideration for our kids. We use this area because the Olivet Baptist Church has graciously allowed us to park on their property and the roads are relatively quiet.
As part of our successful training program, we climb the Cemetery Hill on Graham St. on Tuesday nights for six weeks from early January to mid-February. This site is used again because it is a quiet street in the dark nights of the winter. We try to make the best of our lack of training facilities.
On Tuesday, January 7, the road rage issues returned. Due to the fact that there is no parking on Graham St., the parents park on the sides of the road. With no sidewalks, our kids are forced to run on the road. Although there are sidewalks in Maple Meadows, we are not permitted in that neighbourhood because it is private property.
At the end of our workout on Cemetery Hill, a local resident drove up the road and hammered on their horn in disgust because there were kids on the road. After parking their vehicle, they came back to our group and began yelling at our coaches, parents, and kids for running on the road.
As previously mentioned, the majority of drivers are very considerate of our runners, but there are more and more situations where residents are becoming less patient towards us.
We have been in numerous discussions with the municipality, council, and the BWDSB for the last five years about our lack of training facilities.
We have made two formal presentations to Council about this, and in December 2019 made a formal 27-page proposal for two options. One was to keep and upgrade the GBCS athletic field at a cost ranging from under $500,000 to $2 million. The other was a full scale Regional Sports Complex in Meaford the approximate cost of $55 million where all sports facilities are moved to a central location.
At this meeting we discussed our winter running issues and also expressed our concern about losing our primary training site at the GBCS athletic field in the next couple of years. The BWDSB has expressed their intention of selling this property and Council has expressed their desire to develop this athletic field into something other than a running track.
Despite numerous smaller meetings with both Council and Meaford’s CAO, there has been zero progress of giving us a permanent home to train that is both safe and able to use on a year-round basis. A couple of locations have been shared with Council, but again, it seems building roads, infrastructure, Town Halls, fire departments, and libraries is of a greater priority than investing in our youth and athletic facilities. Even the dogs have their own park where they can safely run around.
The Town seems sluggish to invest in a highly successful ‘AAA’ track club that consistently brings home medals, countless personal best performances, provincial titles, some provincial records, and even a National Junior Cross Country Championship title back in December 2014. We also have many of our graduates heading off to university on track scholarships.
We are running out of places to safely run and our primary site we do have is on the brink of being sold and redeveloped. If we lose the track, then we will be forced to run on the streets all year round.
For the safety of our kids and the continuation of our highly successful running program, hopefully Council, our CAO, and treasurer will stand up and pay attention to invest in our youth.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hooper
Head Coach
Georgian Bay Coyotes Track Club
