Like many residents of Eau Claire, I was shocked and saddened by the news that the Gray Family YMCA in Eau Claire would not be re-opening, even after the current COVID restrictions are lifted, after more than 30 years serving the neighbourhood. This is a great loss for the community, indeed for the city.
Certainly, for your community association, it is a loss. For several years, we have enjoyed what we hope has been a strong symbiotic relationship with the Eau Claire “Y”. They have provided our board with regular meeting space at no cost (until COVID forced us onto Zoom) and taken our mail freely for us. In return, we have always tried to support them, their activities, and their campaigns. They have been among our Association’s greatest friends and we will miss them.
But more importantly, it is a great loss for the whole community. In many communities in Calgary, community associations are a major provider of community recreation facilities and programs. With no physical facilities or space of our own, and no real prospect of that in our downtown location, ECCA has not been able to do that, and our best recreational opportunities, other than our wonderful parks, have been provided by the “Y”. And that’s been the case, not just for Eau Claire, but for all the downtown communities.
If Eau Claire could be said to have a community hub, a central spot that gives definition and life to the community, and a gathering spot for residents, it surely would include the Eau Claire Plaza immediately in front of the “Y” building, with the “Y” a major element of the Plaza. Some of us recently got a chance to get an update on the City’s plans for a major upgrade to the Plaza, giving it renewed life and vitality. The “Y” with its activities is part of that, and what will happen now is far less certain.
Among the reasons cited by the YMCA organization for its decision are, “challenges in the downtown environment”. This is a telling comment. Certainly, downtown Calgary is going through a rough time right now, between COVID closing many offices and the current problems of the energy industry. Calgary has been criticized for being too much a city in which downtown is simply a place to work, but not to live, and that has been among the challenges of downtown. Fortunately, Council and City planners seem committed to a program of strengthening downtown as a place to both work and live. It has been exciting as a downtown resident to be engaged with the City on their plans in this regard. But this decision by the YMCA illustrates that more needs to be done.
As residents of this community, we will miss the local “Y”. They have been wonderful neighbours. We thank them for all their contributions to the community these many years and wish the staff and associates all the best.
