Parents looking to get in a quick workout at city recreational facilities have likely noticed a big change since before the pandemic.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, city run recreation facilities provided affordable child care for parents to access while using the facilities. However, that service — along with all of the city’s programming — was cancelled when the pandemic closed everything in mid-March 2020.
The service, explained the city’s director of recreation and culture Dan Bell in an email to BarrieToday, was reinstated at East Bayfield Community Centre on a trial basis to determine the demand as part of the city’s COVID recovery plan.
Between Sept. 1, 2022 and Jan. 10, 2023, Bell said the service was only used a total of 42 times, prompting city officials to make the decision to no longer provide childcare services at the facilities.
“The decision to close this service was based on the high cost of the service … and the low usage," he said.
