- Support the development of a university/college satellite campus
- Establish a culinary school; generate more outdoor sports opportunities like skate parks and water parks; promote snowmobiling and other winter activities
- Attract and retain youth
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
Huntsville Soccer Club has managed over 700 youth registrations every year since 2000 and over 60 house league teams. 1999 was just short of this mark at 688 players, yet the town has only 2 permanent, full size soccer fields.
Other towns of comparable size to Huntsville offer much more in the way of soccer facilities. This is one of the largest sports clubs in Muskoka and the current programs are being limited by lack of space.
THe school board projected enrollment decline through 2011 may have an impact on total registraions for the club, but this will not significantly change the number of teams in the house league program.
I would like to see an indoor stadium. This stadium would allow us to play football, soccer, baseball, lacross, ultimate frisbee, lawn bowling... to name a few sports on a year round basis. As we have a large populaiton that is extremely busy during the summer months. This would allow people to play their favourite sports year round.
By being indoor this would also allow for more adult use. Since it is indoors there would be artificial lights and as such games could be played until midnight, and since it is enclosed there woudl be no noise problems.
This stadium would allow Huntsville to host numerous regional and provincial events to create additional revenues for the town during our shoulder seasons.
Ideally teaming up with local sports clubs, business, Trillium Lakelands and post secondary educational insitutes to create a facility that would be well utilized. This woudl also allow us to reduce costs to the town and the taxpayers while gaining partners.
One thought to get things rolling.
Review the feasibility of creating pedestrian access from the hotels and commercial centre on Howland Drive to the sports fields. This will enhance the attraction of the sports facilities to visitors (teams, etc) and provide safe access for skateboarders to the new park.
Picking up on where "anonymous" left off, if we can create access from Howland Dr to McCulley-Roberston then we should also try to open up access to the property that is landlocked between Hwy 11 and the railroad tracks. This is one of the few areas in Huntsville that is already flat, a scarce commodity around here, and the soil conditions will be similar to the fields already developed. Ideal for soccer or any other field sports program.
dan w p1h....your idea of an indoor field house is a good one. Such a facility can be used by multiple sporting groups and by multiple age categories.
Huntsville is positioning itself as a town wanting / willing to host sport tourism events. This type of facility would be beneficial to have in that regard.
Such a facility could also be combined with others...a new curling rink, as an example?
A concern is that the current council has a remaining mandate of 3 years. Given the length of time required for public meetings, studies, reports, planning funding and construction a 3 year period is tight to say the least. Difficulties can arise when a significant project such as this needs to be bridged between two different councils.
With the Winter Olympics hosted in Canada in 2010, wouldn't it be wonderful to see Huntsville as a major training site for ski jumpers? We were on the World map for that sport at one time... why not again.
This is an extract from Susan Pryke's award winning book: "Huntsville: With Spirit and Resolve": The Mica Mine Ski Jump, located on Mica Mine Hill beside Fairy Lake, was built by the Huntsville Ski Club and opened on January 13, 1934. At the time, Huntsville was actively encouraging winter tourism in an effort to offset the effects of the Depression. Billed as the "largest, longest, and steepest ski jump in Ontario," the Mica Mine jump had a 170-foot takeoff ramp that allowed a takeoff speed of 70 miles an hour. At the time only two other jumps in the world could beat it for thrills (one in Banff, one in Lucerne). The jump dropped off so steeply that skiers could not see the bottom of the hill from the ramp tower. The jump remained in use well into the 1940s, when it was popular with members of the Norwegian Air Force, which had a training facility in Muskoka during the Second World War. The remnants of the Mica Mine Ski Jump takeoff tower are still visible in the bush on Mica Mine Hill.
For photo's go to: http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/nordic/photos.html#mica
Hello,
I too also think we need to see a Multi-purpose indoor facility. Being a soccer player, I would definitely like to see at least 1 soccer field included. Being a northern climate, practicing in the Winter outdoors is not an option.
Thank you,
Dave C., P1H
Hello,
I believe the Town of Huntsville needs to consider some new ideas when planning new developments and re-developing older neighborhoods with regards to bicycling. Before its too late and we've grown too quickly to fast, we should be developing Bike friendly lanes (like in Copenhagen) and bike routes for our community members to take advantage of. We should also be encouraging townsfolk to ride their bikes/walk instead of driving their cars. There should be more bicycle racks to lock your bike to downtown. We could even have a bicycle rental shop in town hall for our visitors.
Bike lanes in Copenhagen
It is far easier to introduce these lanes and routes when we are initially building than trying to fit them in afterwards. This would also help brand Huntsville "bike friendly" and "green". This would also support our need as a nation to be environmentally responsible.
Thank you,
Dave C., P1H
A multi-purpose facility is the way to go to. Municipalities south of us are way ahead in this regard with Newmarket, Barrie, Bracebridge, to name the ones that have been in the media in recent months, all opening multi-purpose sports complexes. Huntsville aspires to be a sports destination, but the current facilities are sadly lacking. We need to think about all the sports that can be put under one roof. Soccer (of course!), squash, tennis, rock climbing, running track, curling, gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, weight lifting… the list goes on. The more options available, the greater the user interest and the more we can get youth, and adults for that matter, involved in sports as a lifestyle.
Kenneth, P1H
I agree that we should be incorporating greening initiatives, like bike and pedestrian-friendly urban planning, into the Master Plan.
The town of Caledon is a good example of a community that has successfully integrated environmental stewardship into municipal operations (it was voted "Greenest town in Ontario" by TVO in 2003). Some of the areas Caledon has focused on include climate change (e.g., reducing the town's carbon footprint), air quality, sustainable planning and environmental awareness.
If we in Huntsville decided to make greening our community a priority, it would not only put us on the map (and attract visitors), but it would improve our quality of life into the future. Many people who come to Huntsville to visit or live do so because of the beautiful natural setting...let's not forget the importance of this natural heritage to our economy, health and well-being, in our race to develop our town.
Huntsville needs a sustainability plan. We need a clear vision of what areas are going to be left as green natural space and what areas can be developed and we need to stick to it. I believe we need to prevent sprawl and keep a good core with greenspace around it.
The town needs to be accessible for walking and bicycles not just cars.
The town itself needs to adopt environmental sustainability goals. There are other towns that have successfully integrated these principles into the operation of town services which has resulted in operation cost savings.
Hi I’m Aaron R. I’m a grade 8 student at H.P.S. And I think it’s a sweet idea to have an indoor arena. One major thing we’d have to think about is the cost though. We would have to try and raise money for the equipment and the building expenses. We also need to find the space or area for this arena. If we have all the sports like soccer, baseball, ultimate Frisbee, football, and lacrosse we would need a fair size piece of land to build this arena.
Hi! My name is Ali JC. I’m a grade 8 student at Huntsville Public School.
I am responding to the topics having a college/ University and also having activities to attract youth. I am very interested in having a college/University in Huntsville. It would be better for the families who can’t afford to have a room and pay for food and extras. If they had a college/ University in Huntsville the people who lived here could just live at home and attend. To attract teens I think that we should have a hang out spot (like a dance club, like they do in Bracebridge). I agree with all the other people that we should have an indoor sports facility that would be really cool because then if you love a certain sport that isn’t during the correct season (like soccer is in spring summer and basketball is around fall) they could practise for that sport or they could just play it to have fun. We also should make walk/bike trail that goes around our community.
My name is jade A, I’m in grade 7 at Huntsville Public School. Huntsville needs more fields for soccer and foot ball games because we’re going to get more people in Huntsville and more players. You’re going to need more space for the kids and also maybe an indoor soccer field.
I love the idea of an indoor facility however I believe this would be a costly proposal. A great starting point would be to add outdoor fields and do upgrades to our community parks. Lets invest in our future, by keeping our kids active! Also by keeping it outside, we surrounded by Huntville's beauty and clean air.
On a general note, in support of keeping youth in Muskoka, we must agree that our youth are the future of our families, our communities, and our towns. The number of retirees or baby boomers we cater to through our community projects and initiatives is irrelevant, as we should not need to choose between those and other initiatives geared towards keeping our Muskoka youth happy, healthy and HERE! Our land and community are beautiful and bountiful enough to allow for multigenerational improvements. Why let the kids head off to school and stay there? Muskoka should ensure that we are a fresh balance of empty-nesters and gen x-ers! Here's to improving our already impressive roster of youth activities and projects!
Environmental Improvement Suggestion: Regulate the use of herbicides on residential lawns.
I cannot fathom how one can make sense of a town that says it wants to help the environment by limiting vehicle idling, but then publicly states that it wants to provide more snowmobiling facilities! With the threat of global climate change (not necessarily global warming) upon us in full force, (did we not just experience some devastating JANUARY floods???) how can a town justify encouraging an increase in snowmobile use!!
Post a Comment