A proposal to ban tobogganing at all but two municipal parks in a city east of Toronto was voted down after a lengthy council debate and a wave of public protest.
city employees oshawaCouncilor Brian Nicholson, who spoke out against the ban, said Ontario, instead, would try to remove hazards where possible and use existing bylaw powers to post signs banning sleds on the most dangerous hills.
Councilors said the heated public response to the proposed ban had already started before it was considered by the city council on Monday. Emails from residents originally included on the public meeting agenda asked the city to “stop being a Grinch” and turning two-year-olds into “criminals.”
Oshawa, Ontario, proposal to ban tobogganing at all except parks has been criticized
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The proposed ban was part of a set of recommendations drawn up by staff after the city’s insurer identified several risks associated with the popular tobogganing hills.
Nicholson said in an interview, “It was clear from the beginning that this was an over-reaction.” “It had no public support.”
Councilors discussed amendments to soften the proposed ban for about two hours on Monday. First, they voted to send it back to committee; Then, in a reconsideration vote after the lunch break, the council voted unanimously to rescind the recommendations altogether.
“I think common sense won the day during the break,” Nicholson said. “Better to end this now rather than drag it through another committee meeting and another council cycle and upset more people.”
With the resolution rescinded, the city’s current bylaws stand. It states that it is an offense to toboggan where signs indicate its prohibited. Nicholson says he knows of about three such signs in Oshawa’s more than 100 parks.
According to the city report, the insurance review looked at 10 city-owned hills popular with sledgers and found several issues that had to be addressed to reduce the risks. The insurance report has not been made public.
The city shares an insurance pool with several other municipalities in Durham Region. Uxbridge, citing an insurance risk assessment done on six of its hills, allowed tobogganing on one of those slopes this winter.
Country. Derek Giberson says that since the insurer’s report pointed to some liability risks, Oshawa had to act. If the city doesn’t do anything the person who was injured on the hill identified as dangerous by the insurance review decides to sue, Oshawa could be on the hook, he said.
But he says the city’s current power to sign off on dangerous hills could offset those risks in the future.
“We just weren’t using the tools we already had available to us. And now, I think, with this assessment that was provided by the insurance, that will be the approach going forward,” he said.
“We can’t just say, ‘That’s cool’ and pat them on the head and send them on their way.”
Many cities, including Toronto, post signs to indicate where tobogganing is prohibited under local bylaws and have a list of hills that are regularly inspected by staff.
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