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Private business would be nice addition to public parks

The City of Prince George is gathering public ideas and opinions on priorities for city parks. The 2016 Park Strategy, as it is called, will address areas of improvement and guide the city's future investments in parks.
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The City of Prince George is gathering public ideas and opinions on priorities for city parks. The 2016 Park Strategy, as it is called, will address areas of improvement and guide the city's future investments in parks. A series of public meetings have been held over the past two weeks and online feedback is also being solicited through the city's website.

Most people wouldn't see a connection between business and parks in our city. That is partly because our current set of municipal bylaws prohibits any regular commercial activity in our city parks.

Bylaw 7370, passed about 15 years ago, states that "No person shall: (a) distribute, place or erect any signs or other materials for the purpose of advertising any commercial activity; (b) use any public address system for advertising any commercial activity; or (c) sell or offer for sale any goods or services; in an Open Space Area."

The bylaw does state that the previously mentioned activities can't happen without authorization by the Director of Leisure Services or duly authorized designate. But judging by the lack of private commercial offerings in our parks on any given day, I'm guessing that this may be an area of possibility that the city is not presently encouraging.

What a missed opportunity. This is what I think to myself as I sit in the treeless heat at Duchess Park playground or the busy Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park watching my kids play during summer months. Countless times, I've prayed to the God of Indulgence for an iced latte or a Popsicle for the kids. At any temperature higher than 20 C, I begin to envision an oasis with ice-cream carts and Hawaiian shaved ice.

And then there are the fall days when I don't want to interrupt the kids' fun to walk all the way over to The Exploration Place for a snack, but I'd relish a coffee or hot chocolate. Perhaps some roasted chestnuts or a baked sweet potato to warm my pocket, then peel and consume as I did long ago at public parks in South Korea, during my travels there.

All these items could be offered by private entrepreneurs for a specialty business license fee paid to the city after a fair RFP and selection process. While I would hope that park users would avoid littering the disposable cups and containers that would likely be part of the sale process, clean-up services at the end of the day could be provided by the vendors themselves as part of the agreement.

It need not become a circus fair with cotton candy, power generators and deep-fat-fried French fries, but just a few simple mobile food carts with a soft bell announcing their movement from one park to the next. Not only could the addition of food and beverage services to some of our busier community parks be an added benefit to the residents of Prince George, but could also become a small revenue generating opportunity for the city.

I will be providing my feedback on this topic to the City before their deadline of June 3, 2016. I hope you will also consider offering your creative ideas on the topic of city park improvements as well.

Until next week, stay in the black and keep coming back.