New Westminster is starting to reopen its parks and recreation facilities six months after closing their doors to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
The city is working to reopen facilities and restore services in a manner that’s consistent with public health orders related to COVID-19 and adheres to B.C.’s Restart Plan, WorkSafeBC and industry-specific guidelines.
“We are doing everything that we can as a parks and recreation department to ensure that our facilities are, first and foremost, safe for the public to return to and safe for our staff to work in, and still remain a welcoming and inviting environment,” said Dean Gibson, director of parks and recreation. “We really are wanting to encourage the public to come back, and we certainly ask for their patience when they begin to re-engage with us and go through this exercise together about what does indoor recreation begin to look and feel like in an area where we are still trying to promote physical distancing and safe health practices.”
While things won’t look dramatically different in city facilities, Gibson said visitors will notice that some changes have been made since they closed their doors in March.
“Every city facility has had Plexiglas put in those high-contact locations,” he said. “That’s probably been the biggest change that people will see when they come to that reception counter.”
Other public safety measures being implemented at city facilities include: advanced registration for all services to help manage facility and program capacity; time limits on recreation facility visits to help ensure everyone has a chance to play; signage and directional floor decals to ensure physical distancing and safe movement through facilities; and enhanced cleaning protocols and hand-sanitizing stations.
Moody Park Outdoor Pool, the first facility to reopen, required community members to make reservations ahead of time.
“Everything is going to be like we are doing at the outdoor pool, where you effectively reserve or register in advance (as opposed) to showing up at the door,” Gibson told the Record. “That ensures that we can manage the number of people that are in our facilities and, secondly, gives people some reassurance that they are actually going to be able to get in on the day and time when it arrives.”
In addition to reopening facilities on a phased-in basis, Sept. 8 also marks the day the city began accepting registration for fall programs, including skating, swimming, gymnastics and trampoline and fitness.
Program registration for New Westminster residents began at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 and will open up to non-residents on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
“Recreation services are an important part of our community’s health and well-being,” Mayor Jonathan Cote said in a press release. “Staff are working hard to ensure everyone’s safety as we start reopening facilities, and we’re excited to see everyone back.”
Details about all parks and recreation offerings can be found in the fall Active Living brochure, which is available at newwestcity.ca/welcome-back.
“Some familiar programs may not be offered in the fall,” stated the press release. “They are currently under review and will become available at a later date when it is feasible to do so.”
Here’s the city’s timeline for reopening New Westminster’s parks and recreation facilities:
New Westminster Youth Centre: youth lounge, gymnasium and drop-in programs (Sept. 11)
Queen’s Park Arena: washrooms and rentals (Sept. 8)
Canada Games Pool: upstairs fitness centre (Sept. 11); and lane swimming, leisure swimming, facility rentals and downstairs fitness area (Oct. 7)
Century House: reserved drop-in fitness and take-out food service (Sept. 14); and registered fitness, community recreation and activity groups (Oct. 5)
Moody Park Arena: ice rentals (Sept. 16); and skating lessons and public skating (Sept. 23)
Queensborough Community Centre: library, fitness centre, fitness classes and youth and senior services (Sept. 21); facility rentals (Oct. 1); and community recreation, reserved drop-in, and recreation programs (Oct. 5)
Centennial Community Centre: group fitness, indoor cycling, recreation programs and facility rentals (Oct. 1)
Queen’s Park Sportsplex: gymnastics, trampoline and Motoring Munchkins (November)
