City golf courses
Staff are planning to open Kings Forest on Wednesday and Chedoke next weekend, and are working to get all of the appropriate health measures in place to ensure the health and safety of staff and customers. Important things to note: o Golfers have to call ahead for a tee time – no walk-ups o 12-14 minute tee time intervals o Golf carts will be one person to a cart (unless living in the same residence) – be prepared to walk the course as carts will go more quickly with the 1-person per cart rule o The clubhouse washrooms will be open for use o Locker rooms will be closed – come ready to play o Putting greens closed o No tournament or league play at this time o Takeout food and beverage service will be implemented in the next two weeks o We have removed from the courses equipment such as bunker rakes, flags will remain in the holes and we will be raising the holes so the removal of flags will not be required o No scorecards o Payment can be done ahead online or by calling the pro shop o Try to leave a space between parked cars All of this detailed information will be available on our website in the next day or so.
Tennis, pickle ball and figure skating
These recreational activities will be back online and operational by end of May within certain parameters and at certain locations. We will be able to share more information on these next week. Staff are drafting up guidelines for the clubs based on guidelines from the Ontario Tennis Assoc (OTA) and Tennis Canada. Parks staff will begin to reopen outdoor tennis courts throughout the next 1-2 weeks (weather depending). We are asking that the public please wait for the City to provide an update on more information on the restart of these activities before trying to go out and access them at the various locations, they are not open at this time and will not be for a couple more weeks.
Dog parks
Dog Parks will be opened starting Tuesday next week per the provincial announcement.
Boat launches
Staff are working on opening the Bayfront Park Boat Launch and that should be open by tomorrow.
Fireworks ban in the city to July 4, 2020 As you know, Council amended the City’s Fireworks and Administrative Penalties By-law (By-law 02-285) and invoked a temporary fireworks ban. Effective immediately, the sale and discharge of all fireworks in the City of Hamilton is prohibited until July 4, 2020 in order to help prevent large gatherings and the spread of COVID-19, reduce the potential for fires at a time when emergency response teams are required, handle issues directly related to the COVID-19 emergency, and protect emergency response and Municipal Law Enforcement staff from having to inspect more businesses or respond to more situations than necessary during the pandemic. The temporary ban includes the use of sparklers, which the government of Canada classifies as consumer fireworks. Residents found to be acting not in accordance with the temporary ban will be subject to a penalty of $500. Penalties apply to residents, businesses and non-residents. After July 4, the ban is slated to be lifted, but the former regulations would apply. I understand this has caused some residents to be disappointed, but as we know, the motivation was to ensure the increased health and safety of residents at this time, and ensure that our emergency responder resources can continue to focus on more urgent community needs. Parking Enforcement reminder starting this weekend
To ensure that on-street parking and parking in municipal lots is available for businesses and employees, starting TOMORROW payment will once again be required and enforced at all parking meters and lots. Monthly permits from March or April that were not renewed will be honoured in municipal lots through May, but permits for June 1 will need to be renewed. To support local businesses and restaurants participating in curbside pickup and delivery, the first 30 minutes at parking meters will be FREE until further notice. Enforcement of some parking violations will continue to be suspended, such as time limits on residential streets, to support the high number of residents still working from home.
Open Air Burning Reminder
Hamilton Fire has reported a significant increase in the number of city-wide burning complaints it’s received over the last few months on residential properties. As a reminder, residents living in urban areas of the city are not permitted to have open air fires, and for those living in Hamilton’s rural areas, a burn permit must be obtained before doing so. We recognize that many residents, while staying at home as much as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, are undertaking spring cleanup of their property and having open air fires, but only the burning of clean wood and brush is permitted, the burning of leaves is not allowed with or without a burn permit. We continue to remind the public of this, and that the City resumed leaf and yard waste collection on a bi-weekly basis, we can take it away for residents. Today, Hamilton Fire launched a new online payment tool to make it more convenient for residents to pay for 2020 burn permits – visit www.hamilton.ca/emergency-services/fire/open-air-burning-permit.
HSR update – Face coverings for riders
To help reduce the spread of COVID-19, HSR is asking customers to consider wearing a face covering on public transit. It’s not mandatory, however, this extra step can help protect others in spaces where physical distancing can be hard to maintain. Operators continue to do their best to limit instances of over-crowding by monitoring the boardings of 10 or 15 customers the best they can, while safely operating their bus. We are not asking operators to police situations by asking people to not get on or to remove themselves from the bus should they reach capacity, it is the responsibility of everyone to adhere to the measures that have been put in place and respect the signs posted.
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