An exercise camp for toddlers is no longer welcome at Lynndale Parkette in Toronto after the city says they received a dozen noise and parking complaints.
Sportball coaches were told that their permit had been revoked from a parkette in the city’s upper Beaches neighbourhood due to excessive noise -- and if participants returned, they could be fined.
The classes, designed for children as young as 16 months and as old as five years, have an average size of about five children and a maximum size of 10. The children do different activities three days a week, totalling six hours over seven days.
“I don’t think it made any sense whatsoever just because kids at that age, they don’t really make that much noise,” said Vineet Kauden, a coach at Sportball.
Other area residents agreed, saying they hadn’t heard any noise and that parks were meant for children to play, especially during the day.
According to Henrik Anderssen, whose son Liam is in Sportball, some of the residents whose houses back onto the park seem to see the parkette as their personal property, a sentiment echoed by others.
“It seems odd that a permit gets revoked as fast as it did and the fact there was no dialogue with the parents or the organization,” said Anderssen.
According to Gary Crawford, the local councillor, the complaints had to do with noise but also parking restrictions and safety and were immediately passed on to the city.
“We haven’t investigated in any particular way whether or not the complaints were valid or how significant they were,” said Matthew Cutler of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation.
The city still decided however to revoke the permit and feels that they compromised by moving the children’s program to Blantyre Park, a 10 minute walk from the Lynndale Parkette.
With files from CTV Toronto’s Janice Golding
