Neighbourhood drama: Cedarvale residents squabble over making local tennis courts private
Word is there’s a small intra-neighbourhood battle brewing in Councillor Joe Mihevc’s ward. Apparently, a group of local residents are rallying against a recent proposal to turn four public tennis courts at Cedarvale Park into a “community tennis club.” Those behind the Cedarvale Tennis Academy want to create the club and charge a membership fee to maintain the freshly resurfaced courts. But the dissenting group is upset because the courts were resurfaced using a whack of public funds—to the tune of roughly $423,500. They’ve plastered the neighbourhood with notices, and posted a call to action on the community website. Mihevc will be holding a meeting on the issue at Arlington Middle School on May 1 in what should be a classic public-versus-private showdown.
The problem is that the tennis club has done no outreach to the community other than to friends and to friends of friends. They have posted no signs at all. Only Joe Mihevc’s office and whoever is opposing has posted 2 signs in the park. If you’re not part of this social set then you don’t even get to join and apparently they’ve almost reached max capacity without posting anything. That’s why its like a private club. I just walked by the tennis courts and they were all being used on this cold Sunday in April. Given the tennis club proposal and counter proposal from Mihevc’s office, Sunday’s would be private. These current users with Sunday off will have no access if they’re not members. Community outreach by the tennis club, member selection by lottery (not 1st come because of who you know), and fairer time scheduling would make this tennis club acceptable. Otherwise its a private grab of public assets.