R. A. Morrow Park has been an integral part of the City of Peterborough since the 1880’s. Unfortunately, the city has decided to spend an estimated 64M to build a massive twin-pad arena with olympic size swimming pool and accompanying above-ground parking lot. This will essentially pave over the site.

The Mayor and City Counsellors must reverse their decision to use Morrow Park as the site for this entertainment complex for the following compelling reasons:

• Morrow Park was given in trust to the city over 80 years ago by Harold Morrow on condition it always be used as fairgrounds and a place to nurture a love of agriculture.
• Morrow Park should be reconnected to the larger context of the city's network of public spaces and trails, and at the immediate context to its local community – a place for year-round recreational use for all. 
• A twin-pad arena/olympic pool complex only serves a very narrow portion of the population. 
• There hasn’t been sufficient, if any, legitimate community consultation done with regards to how it will affect the surrounding community. The city held an online “information” session during lockdown that was inaccessible for many elderly citizens living in the area. During that session, comments were muted as soon as there were voices of dissent. 
•  The twin-pad arena will generate huge amounts of event traffic and parking that will overcrowd neighbourhood streets and add to already dense traffic on Lansdowne St. 
• Morrow Park is a “Park,” yet the city has yet to explicitly state how much green space will be preserved in this plan. 
•  Friends of Morrow Park wants more transparency around the role of the Peterborough Agricultural Society in this decision, and why the city is no longer keeping its end of the agreement they made with Harold Morrow.
• The site of the Peterborough Farmers Market should be prioritized in any park design. 
• Building a twin-pad arena/olympic pool complex with 575 parking spaces, would drastically reduce the park’s green space, negatively impacting the potential for enhancing its natural features and recreational offerings. During emergencies such as a pandemic, when so many of us are asked to stay confined to our homes, we require public outdoor spaces more than ever. 
• Natural green spaces in and around urban areas are a key tool for CO2 sequestration. Morrow Park could be one of those places. In this time of climate crisis, action is required to keep this 27 acre natural site for current and future generations of Peterborough citizens. 
• Saving Morrow Park from development is the ethical and ecological action required to nurture this magnificent city resource for current and future generations of Peterborough citizens. 

We urge you to reverse your decision to move forward with using Morrow Park as a site for a twin-pad arena, parking lot, and olympic swimming pool. 

Sincerely,

Friends of Morrow Park