A new neighbourhood outdoor rink in northwest Calgary has become a hub for recreation in less than a year since it opened. But it’s recently had a black mark.
“There’s lots of activity here and it’s nice to see a facility like this,” area resident Ernie Clarke told Global News.
Clarke bought a house that now backs on to Hawkwood Community Park and remembers when it was a farmer’s field.
“When we built there was cows in this field behind it,” the grandfather said while watching his grandson skate.
“Over the years, we’ve seen this backfield develop quite a bit into the soccer pitches at first. And then they did try the community rink for a few years.”
Heather Kovach, programs coordinator with the Hawkwood Community Association, said the outdoor rink and the entire outdoor recreational facility project has seen lots of use by the community since its completion in 2022.
“They’re here all the time and bring their families, and grandparents bringing their grandkids,” Kovach said.
“The goal was to provide a place for people to gather, be social and be active. And that’s exactly what this has done.”
So when the outdoor rink was sprayed with vulgar graffiti and a rink board ad was literally de-faced, Clarke was disappointed.
“So much work has gone into the development of this with volunteers and the community association. You just hate to see something like that happen when all that effort’s gone into it.”
The graffiti was removed immediately, and the community association set out to deter anyone from defacing or damaging the facilities. Their solution: security cameras.
“The goal of the cameras isn’t necessarily about the graffiti, it’s more about protecting the infrastructure,” Kovach said.
“We’re not big brother. We have zero interest in policing people’s behavior. We just want the entire community to be able to enjoy the park.”
The community association said the five security cameras will only be focused on the outdoor recreation facility and surrounding homes will not be in the picture. The cameras will be connected directly to recording devices. And any images will not be released publicly to “name and shame” but could be used if police need to get involved.
“We’re a volunteer organization run by volunteers, and so we can’t be here all the time. So when somebody reports something, then we can go in and check it out on the camera, and then we can actually do some engagement,” Kovach said.
The Calgary Police Service said a good quality CCTV system can be a consideration for monitoring a facility, as could a monitored security system.
“Installing CCTV or security systems can both help to deter acts of crime from occurring on the premises, and can also aid investigators in the event of an incident,” CPS said in a statement.
Clarke says the recreational amenities built up in the four decades since he moved to Hawkwood really add to the community.
“There’s nothing like a facility like this for the kids in the community,” he said. “They do their skateboarding programs in the summer and they’ve got soccer going out here. There’s baseball times, the little Timbit soccer players. I absolutely love watching them.”
Kovach said the community association is “incredibly proud” of the rec facility, and most of the visitors have been respectful in their use.
“We would rather be spending money on improving the park as opposed to removing graffiti.”
–with files from Norma Reid, Global News
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