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Here's what's opening in Centre Wellington this weekend

To ensure a safe opening and social distancing protocols, a portion of the roads in downtown Elora will be closed
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NEWS RELEASE
TOWNSHIP OF CENTRE WELLINGTON
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CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Ontario Government announced on Monday that as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, June 11, the province will move into Step One of its roadmap to reopening, a three-step plan to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health restrictions. Outdoor gatherings, non-essential retail, day camps and more can once again be enjoyed, in limited capacity.

“Thanks to the province’s vaccination roll-out and our continued improvements in key public health and health system indicators, we are able to enter Step One of the province’s roadmap three days earlier than expected” said Mayor Linton. “This is extremely exciting news for our residents and businesses in Centre Wellington.  Please continue to shop and eat local, and enjoy our amenities while following public health guidelines. Our community deserves this positive step after strictly following public health guidelines throughout the pandemic.”

Step One reopening plans are focused on low-risk outdoor activities with small crowds. It will also permit more limited indoor settings to be open, all with restrictions in place.

These changes include the following impacts to township programs and services:

  • Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training to be permitted with up to 10 people, among other restrictions. If a member of the community would like to offer an outdoor class/program to the public on Township property, please contact staff to obtain a permit.

  • Day camp registration is now open. We are excited to offer modified in-person day camps for children six to twelve years of age. Our camps are planned with limited capacity to ensure safety and will be held outdoors as much as possible. Camps will take place at the Elora Community Centre, with the exception of one week at the CW Community Sportsplex. The change in location to Elora has been made due to the Wellington Guelph Public Health vaccination clinic currently taking place at the CW Community Sportsplex. For more information and to register, visit www.centrewellington.ca/daycamps

  • The Elora Fergus Tourism Information Centre will open on Saturday, June 12 to the public. Hours of operation in June will be Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Public washrooms at the Tourism Centre as well as outdoor washroom facilities at Bissell Park, Elora Community Centre, Forfar Park and the Fergus Weigh Scale building will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning June 12.  Staff are currently working on opening the Southridge, O’Brien Park and Victoria Park Fergus washrooms.

  • Sports fields will reopen for training only with up to a maximum of 10 people with three metres physical distancing. To reserve a field, please contact staff.

  • Staff are also working on re-opening outdoor water bottle filling stations.

Outdoor amenities remain open with rules in place to ensure the safety of all our residents. Splash pads at Millburn Park in Fergus and the new Nora Carlaw pad at O’Brien Park are open. There is a limit of 10 participants on the splash pad at a time in order to provide adequate space for social distancing. Please follow the rules posted at the parks so that we can continue to have them open to the public. 

Parking and road closures

Timed parking has been implemented in downtown Elora and Fergus. The ParkSmart-Alpha Enforcement Team has been retained to implement the three-hour parking pilot program. The intent of timed parking is to increase the turnover and availability of prime parking spaces in the downtown areas for the benefit of businesses and shoppers. For more information on this pilot project, including maps of the affected streets, please visit www.connectcw.ca

In an effort to support our local, downtown establishments, Township staff have been working closely with our local Business Improvement Area (BIAs) to assist them in re-opening their businesses.

To ensure a safe opening and social distancing protocols, a portion of the roads in downtown Elora will be closed. They will close every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, June 12 until the weekend of Oct. 31, 2021. The closing times will be from Saturday morning at 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday weekly. The affected streets are West Mill Street to Price Street and Metcalfe Street (from West Mill Street to Geddes Street.)

In Fergus, Provost Lane will be closed this Friday, June 11 until Oct. 31, 2021 and equipped with outdoor tables and chairs so that residents and visitors can enjoy a safe outdoor dining experience.

The province will remain in Step 1 for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days the province has vaccinated 70 per cent of adults with one dose and 20 per cent of adults with two doses and there are continued improvements in other key public health and health system indicators, the province will move to Step 2 of the reopening plan.

Any changes in operations will continue to be communicated and posted to the Townships website at www.centrewellington.ca/emergencyplanning and on our social media platforms, www.facebook.com/CentreWellington and Twitter www.twitter.com/CentreWellington.

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