Cricket balls that have ended up on the tennis courts in Galt's Victoria Park have caused enough safety concerns the city wants to install a 20-foot-high line of netting along one of the court fences to protect players from the hard, leather-bound balls.
Since the courts sit at a lower elevation than the cricket pitch, the existing 10-foot-high fence often doesn't keep the cricket balls out.
The Cambridge Cricket Club and the City of Cambridge have had an agreement since 1991 that acknowledges the shared use of the clubhouse and park with the Victoria Park Tennis Club.
The request is heading to the city's heritage advisory committee this week given the park's protected heritage status within the Dickson Hill Heritage Conservation District.
The HCD requires any changes to the park's appearance to get approval.
The netting system is comprised of aluminum upright poles installed with concrete footings and braided black mesh on a cable pulley system.
Staff are of the opinion that the proposed netting is not contradictory to the stipulations of the original deed for the park or the policies within the Dickson Hill HCD Plan, says a report going to the committee this week.
"Given its relative transparency and its location directly adjacent to the tennis courts, the visual impacts of the netting on the character of Victoria Park are minimal," the report states. "The lower elevation of the tennis courts within the park, and the cluster of trees at the top of the hill, will also minimize the visual impact on views across the park."
In his report, the city's senior heritage planner, Jeremy Parsons writes that for much of the 19th century, the property where Victoria Park is located was owned by William Dickson (1769-1846) and his son William Dickson Junior (1799-1877).
Known locally as “Dickson’s Bush,” the area of Galt west of the Grand River remained undeveloped until the late 19th century.
The park itself was established in 1901 as a result of the donation of 28 acres to the Town of Galt by Eugene Langdon Wilks (1855-1934).
Additional acreage was later acquired by the Town of Galt, expanding the size of the park.
Wilks was born in New York as the youngest of seven in the wealthy American family. After studying in England, Wilks came to Canada and purchased land on the western side of the river, including part of his family’s estate, where he built Langdon Hall, the well-known mansion completed in 1902.
"The original deed of land from Wilks to the Town of Galt, dated June 11, 1901, carried with it several stipulations for continued use of the property," the report states.
"Such stipulations were that the land shall be held as a free and open public park, known as “Victoria Park”, that it not be sold, leased, fenced, nor admission money required and that it be left open and kept so far as it is possible in its natural wild and wooded state, except as may be required for driveways and pathways."
