Some clay has been removed, but the line drawn in the sand remains.
Friends of Bonnerworth Park, a citizen group fighting the $4.4 million redevelopment of the greenspace off Monaghan Road at McDonnel Street, has served the City of Peterborough with notice of an application for an injunction to stop work in the park, with a court date to hear the application set for Monday, November 25th.
Served to the city early Wednesday morning (November 6), the notice follows the start of preparatory work the previous day that saw workers remove clay from one of two ball diamonds in the park and erect fencing.
That activity saw some upset residents confront the workers, all while being monitored closely by city police and private security guards.
On Thursday morning (November 7), the city announced that the park, in accordance with the city’s parks and facilities bylaw, is closed to any public access during the duration of project that, as approved by city council, will see 14 pickleball courts, an expanded skate park, and bike pump track developed.
That action has brought forth a frustrated response from city councillor Alex Bierk, in whose ward Bonnerworth Park is located. In a tweet he posted Thursday, he lamented that he found out about the park’s closure via a media release from the city — despite his being the co-chair of the city’s arenas, parks and recreation portfolio.
That grievance aside, Bierk called the move to close the park “vindictive.”
“I go by the park almost every day and it’s very much being used,” he told kawarthaNOW.
“It’s frustrating to me to think that there weren’t other options considered, such as closing off areas in a strategic way as the various stages of development happen. It seems like a vindictive response to just say we’re closing the park down. It feels like a vindictive response because of people objecting to the project.”
Referencing the confrontation between residents and workers on Tuesday, Bierk said “I understand there are issues when things happen the way that they did.”
“But I think the response (closure of the park) is an overstep.”
Adding he was “completely caught off guard” by the decision to close the park, Bierk said he’s being asked by park neighbourhood residents what the reasoning is.
“The truth is I don’t know,” he said, noting that is adding to his frustration.
“I’m hoping to get answers from (city) staff as to what the closure looks like. I don’t want to see construction fences go around the entire park unless that’s absolutely necessary. Obviously there has been meetings and communication with senior administration about this tactic. I’ve emailed staff to get answers and I’m prepared to bring the issue up at our next council meeting (on November 12) if I don’t get a response.”
As for the notice of an application for a stop-work injunction, neither Bierk nor his ward colleague councillor Joy Lachica will comment, citing that the matter is now before the court.
On Thursday, kawarthaNOW received confirmation from the city that it had been served. The emailed statement from the city reads as follows:
“The City of Peterborough confirms that it has been served a notice of an application for an injunction related to the Bonnerworth Park project. The project includes an expanded skateboard park, a new bike pump track, and creating pickleball courts. The City intends to respond to the application in court. The City will have no further comment since the matter is before the Superior Court.”
On Wednesday morning, in an interview with Oldies 96.7 FM, Friends of Bonnerworth Park spokesperson John Gerelus provided clarity on what the injunction is seeking.
“The injunction is asking for a number of things, but the two big ones are to squash the bylaw (concerning the park’s redevelopment) and to have a stay for development until the case can be heard.”
Gerelus confirmed “there has been some delays in getting the injunction filed.”
“Last week, when our lawyer filed electronically, we were given a receipt that our application was received. The lawyer received a receipt for payment and then also received a date, November 25th, for a court date. What was missing was the court filing number which was required in order to serve the actual paper to the city. That was delayed because the court clerk was on vacation and didn’t have any back-up.”
Gerelus also noted the city is under no obligation to halt construction at the park before the court date. According to a recent comment on the Save Bonnerworth Park Facebook group, construction crews have said they are set to resume work on Monday (November 12).
“What we’ve been told by our lawyer is a common practice, at the municipal level, is once they are served, they stop (until the case is heard). That’s a common practice but they’re not obligated to do that. They could continue to tear up the park until it’s heard.”
As he has been since day of the group’s fight to see Bonnerworth Park left as is, Gerelus is heartened by the response, not just from residents living in the immediate vicinity of the park but from those who reside through the city.
A petition opposing the park’s redevelopment has garnered more than 8,100 signatures to date, while a GoFundMe appeal for donations to cover legal costs associated with the injunction filing and the subsequent hearing has brought in just more $41,000.
“It’s people saying ‘We’ve got to fight this … we have to find a way to save this park’,” Gerelus said. “We set the (GoFundMe) target early to gauge interest and we raised $15,000 in two days. We then set our target at $30,000 and we reached that within another few days. The target is set now for $50,000.”
“People want to put their money where their mouth is. They want to fight this. There’s a lot of people upset with the way city council and city staff have conducted themselves. And people see better ways to spend $4.4 million.”
Gerelus says the noise impact of the pickleball complex on the park’s neighbours remains a major grievance but there are others.
“The impact to the regular park user, to youth baseball by ripping out the ball diamonds, by ripping up that greenspace, is too great,” he says.
“Noise mitigation doesn’t work. Residents won’t be able to open their windows in summertime. They won’t be able to sit outside during the summer. These are seniors who have contributed to Peterborough throughout their lives. Are these people less valuable than anybody else?”
Gerelus also raised questions about why the city is moving so quickly to redevelop the park, especially given the ongoing opposition.
“People’s main question is why? Why at Bonnerworth? And secondly, why so quickly? If the City of Peterborough wants to be the pickleball capital of Ontario, then do it right. Find land. Partner with Fleming. Partner with Trent. It all leads to the conspiracy theories and backdoor deals that people are surmising because it just doesn’t make sense. There’s got to be something else going on. That’s what we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of. Legal action is now the only way that we have to go towards.”
While Gerelus and the many opposed to Bonnerworth Park’s redevelopment can’t predict the outcome of the injunction hearing, he does predict the experience will be front-of-mind for many voters come the 2026 municipal election.
“Do you want to kill your political career because of this?,” he asked, referring to the mayor and those city councillors supporting the project. “It looks like they are willing to do that.”
For its part, the city has maintained that suitable public consultation regarding the redevelopment plan was held, and that residents’ concerns were heard and considered.
Back in August, a revised site plan, which took into account the results of various studies including one examining noise impacts, was considered, the result being a reduction in the number of parking spots planned and the number of pickleball courts, from the original 16 to 14.
