RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT

More Available. More Inclusive. More for You.

Hamilton residents have already invested in recreation centres, pools, arenas, parks, playgrounds, trails, cultural facilities and other public spaces across our city.

We should make the best possible use of them.

Facilities need repairs. Equipment breaks. Capital work has to happen. Staffing challenges occur. There will be times when a facility, program or service cannot operate normally.

Responsive Government doesn’t mean pretending those disruptions will never happen.

It means planning ahead to prevent avoidable disruptions, minimizing necessary ones and having practical alternatives when something residents rely on isn’t available.

I will establish one clear Public Facility Continuity Standard for City-owned facilities and spaces intended for public use.

That starts with better planning.

The City will consider the condition of a facility, how heavily it is used, the role it plays in its community, accessibility requirements and whether residents have realistic alternatives nearby.

That matters because closing a facility with several alternatives nearby is not the same as disrupting a service that may be the only practical option available to a community.

Special consideration will be given to high-use facilities, locations providing the only nearby service, warming and cooling functions, and facilities with specialized accessibility features.

For planned work, City departments will be expected to better coordinate maintenance, capital projects and programming wherever practical. That can mean bundling work together, scheduling it during lower-use periods or completing work in stages so we avoid unnecessary or repeated disruptions.

And when a closure or service disruption is necessary, the City will identify practical alternatives wherever possible.

Depending on the situation and available capacity, that could include relocating programs, honouring passes at another facility, adding or rescheduling sessions, maintaining partial access, rescheduling permits, or providing appropriate credits or refunds.

But an alternative is only useful if residents can actually use it.

Accessibility, transit, parking, distance and available capacity will all be considered when determining whether an alternative reasonably accommodates the people and programs affected.

Residents will also be able to get clearer information about disruptions, including whether a facility is open, partially available or closed; why; when service is expected to return or when the next update will come; and what alternatives may be available.

But this plan isn’t only about what happens when something closes.

It is also about getting more from the facilities Hamilton already owns.

The City will use information including demand, waitlists, cancellations, facility utilization and staffing availability to identify opportunities for additional programming and better access.

That can include swimming, skating, youth and older-adult programs, fitness, adapted and inclusive recreation, sports, cultural and community programming, and outdoor activities where demand and available capacity support it.

We will look at opportunities such as unused or returned facility time, off-peak periods, shared spaces, extended hours where practical and recovering programming hours lost to cancellations.

And before taxpayers are asked to fund additional capital or permanent staffing, we should first make sure we are making the best possible use of the facilities, spaces and resources Hamilton already has.

More Available. More Inclusive. More for You.