Town administration will be looking at the feasibility of mandatory helmet use for minors at the Olds skatepark following a lengthy discussion on the matter at council's Policies and Priorities meeting on May 16.
Coun. Wade Bearchell said he believed strongly that the town should be enforcing a requirement for helmet use at the park. In the name of safety, he said council owes it to the community to make sure users are wearing helmets. He wanted a vote on the issue as soon as possible.
“I'm frustrated with this whole issue,” he said, noting that either town peace officers or RCMP should enforce any proposed bylaw, as they would get more respect from the teens to comply. “I know for the most part the kids are good (but they need protection). By instituting some rules, we're doing the right thing. It's very important to me. We need to lay down some rules and we need to enforce them,” he said.
Mayor Judy Dahl, however, bristled at the implied suggestion that anyone who didn't agree with Bearchell did not have the safety of teenagers at the top of their minds.
She said she thought that everyone around the council table could agree on that point. But she said she was not prepared to go ahead immediately with a vote on the issue before consulting with parents and community members to hear their feedback. She suggested a survey be conducted to hear what parents thought about the issue.
“I'm not prepared to go forward until we have some facts on the table,” she said.
Norm McInnis, the town's chief administrative officer, said he thought a mandatory helmet bylaw would be counterproductive because it would drive older teens away from the park to their old congregation points — something the park was designed to avoid.
Coun. Mary Jane Harper suggested the bylaw, saying it was the correct move for council to make.
“(It's) the social right thing to do,” she said.
Bearchell said he believed the park shouldn't be open at all hours of the day, and moved the motion on mandatory helmet use.
It was pointed out by Barbara Hill, director of community services, however, that the parks bylaw states that between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., is considered dark hours. Hill said town staff is in the process of putting more garbage cans in the park, as well as installing more park furniture. She also said if the town is sponsoring an event at the park, helmets will need to be worn by all users.
Coun. Debbie Bennett-Dubak said that in her view, town peace officers should be working shifts to monitor the park on a regular basis. It was pointed out that the peace officers are already doing shift work.
“Let's give the kids a chance. It's time we let the parents decide (about safety equipment),” she said.
Coun. Harvey Walsh said a balance needs to be struck between safety and going too far with enforcement.
“I think we need to look at it seriously, but with some reasonableness, too,” he said, noting he couldn't support Bearchell's position of the town moving on a bylaw as soon as possible. “Personal responsibility comes first. To go forward with this motion … it's not the way to proceed,” he said.
Coun. Murray Ball said he thought beyond the helmet issue, the larger issue of teens congregating at the park could be properly dealt with by enforcing the parks bylaw. He supported the general helmet rule, however.
“I believe … we have the ability to create a bylaw and frankly we have the responsibility (to do that),” he said.
Bearchell's suggested motion was defeated, but a motion for administration to investigate the mandatory use of helmets at the park for those 18 and under — and to engage the public as part of the process — was passed.
Bearchell said following the meeting he was encouraged that administration will be looking at the issue.
“I feel that it's council's opportunity to take a leadership role with regards to what I consider to be a no-brainer — and that's to have children under 18 wear helmets at the skateboard park. My motion was defeated because (council) wanted to go through the public consultation process, which adds time to the issue … which I'm OK with. I would hope that common sense would dictate that we value our youth … and we help, as adults … with their safety. If it ends up that it takes a bit longer, so be it,” he said.
