"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Sunday 20 May 2012

Occupy Aurora Town Park

Serious thought should be given in the community, particularly the neighbourhood, to refuse to allow the town park to be fenced off  during the August long weekend.
There can be no justification for  a chain link security fence to be erected to keep people out. How offensive is that?
No fee has been paid to lease the park. No fee can be paid.

Mosely has been the Town Park for more than a century. Who  has the right to decide the public should be denied access on any day of the year, let alone a long, lazy, hopefully hot, summer week-end?
Authority to ban public access to a park does not belong to Council or the administration ..
No person or organization, other than the town, has authority to rent  space in a park to vendors.  
The idea is nonsensical and  totally repugnant.
You have a Council who should speak for you. I have. So far, my objections have  fallen on deaf ears. 
Residents  have to come to Council, use the public forum, that's what it's for, and say.;
We do not want a fence  keeping  us out  of our park.
The band shell can be rented.
We didn't build it so some outfit could  use it for  commercial concert promotion.
 If the town won't listen , people should just go out on  Friday of the August bank holiday  and push that pesky fence aside. 
You don't have to wear hoodies and masks to hide your identity You don't have to pitch tents to establish ownership.
Sleep in your own beds and come out in the morning and push that pesky fence aside.
It could be a special  event like tossing the caber or putting the shot. Like a mini-Highland Games. 
We could call it "Push Back the Fence Event"
Strike a blow for freedom. Invite the media . 
It could be promoted  all over North America like the "Right to Dry".  Maybe we could get a picture or aheadline in the New York Times.
Think of it." The  Right To Play In Our Own  Park" event.
How original?  How innovative? Why didn't we think of it before?
How slow are we?
Other people  take over a town park, put a fence around it to charge admission for  a week-end  concert promotion. They get fees waived for the asking. Town sponsorships.for "economic development".  Trillium grants  for promotion of"Culture",  Heritage Canada grants, for who knows what  reason, and sponsorships from families and businesses and  then at the end of the event, skip and frolic. laughing, all the way to the bank
All the while. we  never  thought of defending our ownership and right of access  to the very park they utilized to pull in the scheckles.

We witnessed an ugly five foot high chain link fence erected  and  manned with security agents to ensure no entry without payment of a fee and we never uttered a whimper.

What's the matter with us?   Eh? 

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has taken so long because we are a law-obeying town.
When someone orders us from a picnic table in the park, we assume that individual has the authority. When a fence is erected around a park, we assume that a permit has been arranged and that proper financial and insurance arrangements have been made.
We are slow but eventually we get where we should be.

Anonymous said...

Cool idea. If the Jazz people were sharp, they would simply not fence the park and would allow access to their vendors- who sure wouldn't complain. And the organizers do get a cut of sales, I think. It could be a positive step. But I did qualify this comment with ' if the Jazz people were sharp ". Have to wait & see. Certainly the idea must be causing some deep thought - & bad language.

Anonymous said...

What is the reasoning behind the extreme fencing? We've been to all kinds of fairs & festivals and never seen such a thing. They can fence, with a small fence, their beer garden. Anything else is over the top & must cost a bundle. Why? Are they expecting an armed incursion in Aurora? It is puzzling to try to figure out if it is to keep their customers in or residents out.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps at the Council meeting, Councillor Humphreyes can clarify what she meant when she said the fencing issue should not be discussed because volunteers were already busy. What? They're building the fencing?

Anonymous said...

This is a pointless discussion. Hoe-down & Rib-fest don't need chain link fences.

Anonymous said...

Hoe Down is a ticket only event on private property. Rib Fest IS partially fenced AND patrolled. I sat with my kids last year enjoying the playground and water park and listened to some of the music for free. It was no big deal. There was lots of parking in front of the water park at that time, and it was a lovely afternoon in the sun. Hope to do it again this year.

Anonymous said...

They will argue precedent and security. We have a precedent for all sorts of things including lawsuits. Doesn't make it right. And they can hire security to guard the band-shell; vendors know how to lock up. Cheaper than fencing. Fairy Lake lasts a few days - the park is otherwise open to the public the entire time. You can walk your dog etc throughout the rest of the area.

Anonymous said...

Sure beats praying for rain that weekend.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Occupy Aurora Town Park might have legs - lots of time to work on the details. If nothing else it will cause sleepless nights for some. Well done.

Anonymous said...

If this idea pans out ,perhaps one of the excluded service clubs could get a permit from the Town to sell refreshments? That way, something positive could emerge from a negative.

Anonymous said...

Today I think we must offer up our thanks that St.Kitts VOLUNTARILY removed its presence from Aurora Blogs, FOR EVER " .Otherwise we might be experiencing an veritable flood of vindictive. Karma.

Anonymous said...

The fence is only one issue. Worse is Sher St Kitts going to the owners of the houses around the park and telling them they can't sit on their front lawn and listen to the music they need to pay for tickets. We have to put up with the traffic and the loud music all weekend and she wants to charge us to sit on our own lawn. Those of us who work shift work have to go and find somewhere else to sleep for the weekend because it is so loud and annoying. We love the concerts in the park because they are for a few hours and the June 30 th night is awesome but to loose the peace of a long weekend is way too much. One night is enough and take down the fence if you are going to be there, it is our park not hers.