The Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre and nearby McMahen Park will be getting some upgrades as a thank you from the City of London for serving as a COVID-19 Assessment Centre throughout the pandemic.
A new “multi-use pad” will replace the old basketball court outside of the community centre. The reformed space will be used for summertime sports like road hockey and basketball, but will also be suitable for ice skating and hockey during the winter.
During the colder months, the ice rink will operate under London’s Neighbourhood-Managed Ice Rink Program, which is need need of volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can reach out to neighbourhoodicerinks@london.ca.
The city intends to have the multi-use pad up-and-running within the next two years.
Along with the new sports pad, a spray pad will be built in McMahen Park as a long-term project, taking more than two years to complete. City staff suggest that additional funding from other levels of government may need to be acquired, along with an appropriate location for the splash pad, construction approval, and more public engagement.
The plan for a multi-use pad and spray pad in the northeast London neighbourhood came from an initiative called “Friends of Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre Decide.” Starting in December 2022, this campaign was an opportunity for local residents of any age to share their opinion and cast their vote on what short-term and long-term projects would be most worthwhile for community members.
City staff said there were 76 idea submissions. Between February and March of this year, 1,303 votes came in for the short-term ideas, and 467 for the long-term projects.
