The Town of Oakville should build a 200 meter indoor running track as part of its new community facility being built on the old hospital site. This facility should be certified with 4-6 lanes and suitable (suitable meaning safe as well as meeting Athletics Canada facility standards) for Athletics and Running.

Proper and Safe Facilities Promote Healthy Active Lifestyles 12 Months of the Year

Oakville does not have a proper and safe indoor running facility that local residents, clubs, groups can use for running, training or fitness.  Building a certified 200 meter indoor track in Oakville gives residents, and local clubs like Lions Valley Athletics a place where athletes can train safely in the winter or any time of year. It will also help advance the sports of Athletics and Triathlon in the region where participation is currently below that of other regions in the area. It would also give residents more fitness alternatives during the dark winter months, help promote year-round healthy active lifestyles and the Sport for Life movement. It would be a huge benefit to the community and to residents to have an indoor facility where track & field athletes, runners, triathletes, duathletes and other endurance sport athletes can train, practice and compete every month of the year regardless of weather and outside temperatures or visibility. A new 200m indoor running track should be safe, properly managed and sport specific (running) because none of the current Oakville facilities fulfill these requirements. Running is one of the most affordable sports and building a proper 200m indoor track will make it an available choice for Oakville residents throughout the year.

Participation is Lower Without Proper Facilities

There are Oakville residents who would be runners and triathletes that either choose not to be active or choose to participate in other sports such as indoor soccer, especially during the winter months because there are no proper facilities that allow year round participation. The number of people participating in Athletics or Triathlon is lower within Oakville because the facilities to train and race are not available.  Building proper facilities will lead to an increase in the number of runners, and athletes within Oakville. There are running events held all over Ontario and regions with proper facilities have larger running communities, more events and more depth in those runners. The lack of numbers and depth of runners in Oakville shows as early as at the school level. Oakville has only ever had 3 individuals and 2 teams become OFSAA Cross Country Champions out of the total 635 titles that have been contested since 1951!  ZERO High School running events were held in Oakville during 2016 and that includes all meets for Cross Country and Track & Field. Communities with proper indoor facilities show much different results.

Current Facilities in Oakville are Not a Viable Option

The current facilities in Oakville are NOT VIABLE OPTIONS for athletes due to the large increase in risk of injury, especially if they are running fast or over a longer period of time.

·       Fitness Centers & Equipment - Limitations and Restrictions

Oakville's Fitness Centers have treadmills and other fitness machines that can have limited or restricted use and are typically only used as a last resort.  Treadmills have rate limiters as well as the length of time they can be used during busy periods.

·       Indoor Walking Tracks - Unsafe Designs for Running

These walking tracks have unsafe construction and designs for running causing collisions or injuries. The length and shape of the track at these indoor facilities is too short at 100m and their corners or bends are too sharp to be used safely for long periods of training when running, especially running fast. The use of these tracks for running greatly increases the chance of injury for all users.

The designs, which are often not made with runners needs in mind, can cause collisions between people or objects. Collisions caused by entrances with blind spots for users moving either on or off the track, railings or fixtures that are too close to the lanes and lanes that are too narrow putting users too close.

·       Indoor Walking Tracks - Unsafe Use & User Management

The people and groups using these walking tracks are not managed properly and don’t know how to safely use them with others who are going different speeds. This greatly increases the chance of collisions between users especially for anyone running faster.

There are some proper and safe facilities in other regions but they are NOT VIABLE OPTIONS for Oakville residents for various reasons.

·       Milton Velodrome 300m Running Track - Oakville Residents Denied Access

The indoor running track at the Milton Velodrome has denied access to not-for-profit groups like Lions Valley Athletics from renting time and participating in any public hours.

·       York University 200m Indoor Track - Too Far & Time Consuming

This track is great for training but it’s unavailable on most weekends, and on weekday evenings it is extremely busy.  The time it takes to travel to this facility during weekday rush hour can reach over 90min for one way and any toll routes are expensive.

·       University of Toronto 200m Indoor Track - Bad Location & Expensive

Located in Downtown Toronto, this facility is difficult to get to during rush hour whether driving or using public transit. The use of the facility is expensive and only membership options are available.

Building a 200m indoor track in Oakville will be a positive addition to our community  supporting runners, healthy lifestyles and fitness 365 days of the year with a safe accessible facility!