Local poll respondents are supporting Town of Newmarket plans to quickly start construction of more downtown parking despite the outcry from tennis players temporarily losing their club home.
The municipality's plan to go ahead with converting the downtown tennis facility into more than 200 parking spaces is up for discussion at council Monday, Feb. 5. While it initially intended to have a new tennis facility ready for the transition, construction delays mean the tennis club will lack a facility for some time.
That has had tennis players petitioning against the move, with more than 715 signatures.
NewmarketToday.ca polled 450 NewmarketToday.ca readers and asked the question: Should the Town of Newmarket delay construction of a downtown parking structure until the new tennis facility is built?
The poll ran from 1/31/2024 to 2/3/2024. Of the 450 votes, we can determine that 376 are from within the community. The full results are as follows:
Results are based on an online study of adult NewmarketToday.ca readers that are located in Newmarket. The margin of error - which measures sample variability - is +/- 4.61%, 19 times out of 20.
NewmarketToday.ca uses a variety of techniques to capture data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots, and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.
A majority of respondents were in favour of the town’s plan, with 66.49 per cent of locals responding that downtown parking construction should go ahead as soon as possible. 22.3 per cent of local respondents that the construction should be delayed, while 11.27 per cent of locals indicated indifference.
Newmarket Community Tennis Club president Lisa Fung said the poll does not surprise her.
“We’re looking at the whole of Newmarket wanting to be involved in the downtown area versus a tennis club with 500 members,” she said. “It still doesn’t take away the fact tennis is a very strong sport in our community."
Regarding parking issues, she added, “Obviously, the residents of the town are feeling it. We feel it, too.”
The town has planned for more than a year to make the conversion as local businesses and residents have demanded more parking in the downtown core. At issue is the problem is expected to get worse with the upcoming opening of the Postmark Hotel, well before a new tennis facility is ready.
Still, Fung said tennis players were disappointed when they initially learned about the town's plans.
“You’re thinking about your members, and what we’re going to lose and what’s going to happen,” Fung said.
That led to a change.org petition calling for the town to halt the move.
“We urge the Town of Newmarket to reconsider their decision and keep NCTC (Newmarket Community Tennis Club) open until at least the end of the summer 2024 season,” the petition said. “Let's preserve this vital part of our community's fabric — not pave it over.”
Damage control
After the petition emerged Jan. 31 and multiple social media posts, the town has attempted to address concerns.
Fung said municipal representatives, including Mayor John Taylor, had a private meeting with the club Feb. 2, with about 60 members taking part.
“It went really well,” Fung said. “It gave more background information to the members so they can sort of understand why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
Taylor has commented on several Facebook posts on the matter to explain the town’s position.
“Very soon, The Postmark Hotel will open bringing many new guests and employees to the downtown. This will create a big parking shortage that will negatively impact over 100 small businesses,” Taylor said on Facebook. “We are in the process of leasing and arranging as much court space as we can for the summer of 2024 to ensure a slightly modified season can occur. We look forward to working with the club pros and the organization itself to ensure the impact is as minimal as possible.”
The town explained those plans to the club, Fung said. Plans include leasing some space in a neighbouring community, using additional town courts and a booking system to ensure that players can get space. The Lions Park tennis court will become the centre for the club in the meantime.
“It’s not ideal, and it’s going to be dispersed. We won’t have that club-like feel,” Fung said. “But I think we’ll be able to still have a very decent and fun summer tennis season.”
Newmarket council committee of the whole will decide on the staff proposal to proceed with tendering a design and build of the new modular parking structure Feb. 5.
“Everyone’s going to have sacrifice, but we’re doing our best,” Fung said.
