After being banned from Todd Park in James Bay for making a racket, Pickleball players in Victoria are getting two new courts in Beacon Hill Park, but the space proposed by the City is the subject of a human rights case.
The current plan is to transform the vacant Arbutus Way parking lot into a new playing hub for Pickleball players.
“Now we get to join the ranks of the famous cricket, lawn bowling, tennis, baseball people in the park,” says Connie McCann, the President of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association.
The city says it will clean the area and provide temporary fencing and the cost will be covered within the existing operating budget for the parks, recreation and facilities department.
Back in 2020, city council voted to close Arbutus Way to vehicle traffic to allow room for physical distancing during the pandemic — something that disability advocates didn’t agree with.
“There is no access to the north end of the park for people with disabilities who used to enjoy driving through or use these parking spots to get to things that were very close,” says Robin Bayley, an advocate for people with disabilities.
Also, the proposition of these new courts in an area supposedly facing a human rights case didn’t make sense.
“I’m not sure why the city would want to have a pilot for something in an area that’s currently being looked at from an accessibility perspective and a discrimination perspective,” says Susan Simmons, a disability advocate.
Victoria city councillor and 2022 mayoral candidate, Stephen Andrew tweeted he sees it as a “temporary emergency solution,” and believes the road will be forced to re-open once a human rights decision is handed down.
I see this as a temporary emergency solution. It is my expectation this action not supersede any BCHRT case. I firmly believe road will be forced to re-open once this is adjudicated by Human Rights decision is handed down. #ANDREW2022 #yyjpoli https://t.co/v3KGb5TLdK
— Stephen Andrew (@Stephen_Andrew) April 26, 2022
“I would like to see the pickleball people find somewhere to play, I don’t want to see them get displaced either but I don’t feel that they should be put in a space that we know is a vital line for people with disabilities,” adds Simmons.
Whether or not the human rights case changes the pickleball court plans, the city says they are looking forward to ensuring quality facilities are available to meet the demand for the growing sport.
“Beacon Hill Park is of course one of the urban jewel parks in our entire province and there hasn’t, I believe, been a sport put back into the park in quite a long time,” says McCann.
It is anticipated the two courts will be built in a couple of weeks, just in time for the spring and summer seasons.
Hannah Lepine
