J - Page 6, Wednesday, October 20th, 1971, WHITBY FREE PRESS What Ever Happened To The Bradley Farm Study? by W. i. Daniels . ..l1 t w a s an easy summer eve- n i n g , perfect f o r a stroil through Whitby's activity centre. The Bradley Farm Study People mingled leisurely around the Centre, 1 i s tening to the brass b a n d bellow o u t marches from the band shel i ntothe night. Others sa t s i pping coffee, or a soft drink atone of the open-air cafes, watch- ing the easewi th which people strol- led. T h e r e were t h ose who desired something a little stronger, and they sim ply slipped into one of the ultra night clubs. The Centre offered something for everyone, even those who just wanted to browse - through books in the lib- rary in the museum, and amidst tiny trinkets in a boutique. What might have been Periodically, the stillness of the n i g h t wo ui1d be broken by a loud roar. Whitby residents in their own stadium had witnessed the Brooklin Redmen scoring again - on their way back to the Mann Cup. T h e re w a s even something for y ou ng lovers. The look-out tower. From the top, they could see right down to the lake and as they walked around the top ledge, ail of Whitby was below their feet. No - we are not talking of Iroq- uois Park, but rather, a portion of the S r a d 1ey Farm and surrounding area study. This report, presented toWhitby Council, in November of1969, had all1 of the above, including the stadium and more, in its proposal. The Bradley Farm report takes in an area bounded by Brock Street to the west; Rossland Road to the north, and the main CPR tracks to the south. It i i e s west of both t h e abandoned CNR interswitch and Garden Street. The report w as presented by the Centrai Ontario Joint Planning Board. The concept the COJPE3 pro- posed is, inour opinion, far superior to t h atMof t h1e $70 mil iion iroquois Park project. Artist's nodel of Bradley Centre Why ? First of all, the report revealed that the Centre was to be more than merely an assembly of such activi ties as suggested in the proposal above. There was to be a unity with sur- roundingli1andscape and architecture - designed to entice business to the area, and hopefully, i n dustry. The s e p ar ation of vehicular travel and p e d e s t rian walks was to be one of t h e m o s t e s s entialaspects of the centre. The centre was to be for the en- tire town, appealing to the eye with imagination, which was bound to at- tract investment all over Whitby. Yet, t h e possibility of h a rmony wîithin Whi tby, which the centre couId possibly have given, may die as rap- idiy as the money spent on the rep- ort and study has. Strangely - an airport was pro- posed for Whi tby awhile ago. It is an ambitiousundertaking, nodçubt, but, t h e r e is an a i r port to the west of Whitby, and there is another one to the east. Iroquois Park Now - Ir oquois Park, that $70 m i i i ion sports complex, which will ha v e everything f r o m a miniature Disneyland to a stadium with a seat- ingcapacityof approximately 50, 000 has been proposed. B u t , of cour se, there's the lot- tery, whichgovernmentofficialsstill haven't endorsed. Metro Toronto has aiso come upwith two or three stadium proposais- but just a stadium - not a sports complex befitting of the olym- pics. Expo not cleared of debt Ex po, a much Ilarger and a more ambitiousundertaking, whichcatered to people from ail over theworld, and s t ili does to an extent through 'Man and His WorId', hasn It yet cleared itself of debt. Whi tby has a population of ar- ou n d 20, 000, whi le Montreal has a p o p u l a t i on 100 times that. Surely there's a message here. Why not an an activity centre It's difficult to understand why a reasonable andworkable solution like the Activity Centre, includingtherest of the Bradley Farrn Study, couldn't be instituted instea d of Iroquois Park. The most reasonable answer we've h e a rd in favour of Iroquois Park, comes from Vhitby's Director of Recreation, G.K. Gelette. "in Whitby alone, there are only eight swimming instructors who are qualified. With anolympic pool, used year round, we wouldn't have to scr atch every year for instructors f o r y o u n ger people, "Mr. Gel ette says. Mr. Gelette does not, as do others involved, look upon Iroquois Park as a place for professional athletes. Good facilities make athletes "The potential for training ath- letes in all events is phenominal, " he said. "if you look at the olympics for instance, the winners generally c o m e from areas that have the best fac il ities. "i don't think anyone would mind if wvehad an olympic winner from Whitby, and think of what it would do for the other kids, " he said. Mr. Gelette, af course, was nat thinking of the Activity Centre, and was s p eaking on y , as he had been asked, about Iroquois Park. We w on der though - could these t h ings be a cc omplished in a place Ilik e i roquois Park. We say prob- ably not, but Mr. Gelette is far more q u a I i f i e d to answer that question than we are. T h e r e is one thing we are cer- tain of, however - Whitby's activity centre, as pl anned by the C.O. J. P. B. would certai nly serve a much more feasible purpose for a lot more peopl1 e f rom a il1 walks of life in Whitby. Say - w h a t ever happened to the Bradley project anyway ?. . . e ttes othÈe ed itor box 206 w h iby Floor Tile Ceiling Tile 6¼c ea. 12c ea. Pre-Finished Panneling Latex Paint 4x8 $3.79 $3099 gal. BROCK BUILDING SUPPLIES & HOME IMPROVEMENT CENTRE 244 Brock Street S. Whitby 668-9391-2 Plione 839 1332