Municipal workers post signs prohibiting kite flying at Miliken Park, in Scarborough, Ont., August 17, 2010. Scarborough community council has decided to ban kite flying in the 32-acre park.Kevin Van Paassen
Banning sports activities in city parks should be done with caution, and only as a last resort.
The public's safety is paramount. But every effort must also be made to accommodate communities who want to engage in recreational pursuits that may be new to Canada, including kite fighting, a sport immortalized in the 2003 novel by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner.
This South Asian pastime, in which kite-masters manoeuvre their airborne contraptions and try to bring down their opponents' kites by cutting their strings, goes on peacefully in neighbourhood parks in Vancouver.
However, the sport recently became controversial in one Toronto park, after a city councillor, Chin Lee, received several complaints about it, and led a successful effort to have kite flying banned. Some neighbourhood residents were concerned about the debris from the fallen kites, including dozens of metres of potentially dangerous string.
Kite string can be made of wire, or nylon coated with crushed glass. It can ensnare birds, cut people's feet, and get into lawnmowers and other electrical equipment used to maintain the park.
Mr. Lee did not consult with the kite-flying community to resolve this safety issue, or bring it to the city council. Instead he had the outright ban imposed on kite-flying in Milliken Park, a 32-hectare green space. This heavy-handed approach meant there was no opportunity for the community to explore other options.
One solution would be to confine kite fighting to a certain area of the park. Kite-fighting associations could also agree to hire clean-up crews to collect the debris, and to self-police and agree to use only cotton kite string.
In Toronto, there are already bylaws in place that prohibit kites from being flown within 25 metres of a tree, a building or a hydro pole, and which also ban metal kite strings. The penalty is a $100 fine. Gogi Mallick, operator of the Gogi Fight Club, said all those who take part in tournaments organized by his group use only paper kites and cotton string.
City officials should make every effort to compromise, and ensure that people can enjoy Canada's public spaces as they see fit, with reasonable regard to their fellow citizens.