Five OCP-designated parks
January, 2017. This page is in need up updating
March 21, 2014. Submission to project after the initial public meeting.
Overview
I understand the City worry that people will ask for more. Given that the 2010 OCP didn't really allow choice over which lands were to be park and which FD, it's my feeling that this is inevitable. A Yukon River Corridor Park, Rock Gardens Park, pieces of connection to link parks, are all still quite reasonable and should be accepted as items to be discussed as this process moves along.
I understand there'll be a push to do something fast.
- Looking at the UCB will show both Paddy's Pond/Ice Lake Park missing connections to McIntyre Creek Park and McLean Lake Park, as well as the need for Porter Creek D to be in 'middle' McIntyre Creek Park.
- Mike Gladish's comment about greater infill is true. Understanding the need for density will be better understood as the planning process proceeds. As people and the city become more aware of current and existing land use around each park — this will help the understanding of FD Zoning in each of the affected areas.
- Looking over the graphics and notes of what people said at the meeting made me feel that there's a pretty common vision in thinking our greenspaces in general and these parks in particular represent pretty common significant values to people. Summarizing them into a simple set of values seems a useful step.
Process
Next steps should be in at least two stages: First compile ideas, values, possibilities. Background, white paper kind of education. Discussion.
- Loop walks key criteria: is a very fast read and a good example of a vision paper. We need similar fast, easy, provocative, practical reads on city parks and wildlife protection, neighbourhood walking, experiential learning, community wellness, community development…
- Mapping needs to be usable, good mapping of what is currently in each park area --> and current usage. And a separate map for the future. Or, the basic map and then items that can be inserted over that map to show the various things.
Second, determine 'management plan'-style things. We don't want community inter-interest hostility and we know we can be pretty polarized on issues.
2032 should be there to ensure a long term concept. We need to buy into a community vision that make people feel that 'hands off, our parks are protected', as was constantly brought up at the meeting the other evening. And as city parks, they will be ever more used and that should be part of the vision.
Stewardship/planning
I think either a per-park advisory group of interested people or a 5-OCP group.
- Not a Task force of appointed people, limited to just a few groups
- Not a Task Force meet, decide, disband group but rather a long haul group
- Must have an active first nation presence
- I'm not a planner so don't see how decisions get made but not a Task-force style
- Stewards, visionaries, but also with feet on the ground
- Task force criteria decision documents were too hard to understand
- At least one senior city person and a councillor
- At the initial stage, at least, this should be a planning level group, not a recreation group
- All meetings need to be open to the public
Communication
Educating the public as we move along. Posting the progress and stages up for people to read as things move along. Things that as a Community Association or and Interest group could be shared. We can help push the public awareness throughout these initial stages, but we also need to stay connected as things move into the next stages as well.
As this process goes along I will update this page, particularly around the individual parks.
Peter
March 19, 2014. Latest from the Parks Planning folk.
February 24, 2014. Regional Parks Plan. The FAQ's are at this link As per usual, a pretty ambitious timeline, in this case, being done before summer.
Things that the initial planning process should consider
- There needs to be a community-based stewardship focus. It shouldn't be dominated by the city. There already is a City Trails committee that arbitrates trails. This new committee should have the city as a member. It should not have motorized/non-motorized trails as a focus, but rather turn these issues over to the other Trail committee.
- Each park needs a map showing surrounding neighbourhoods, both residential and commercial/industrial; show future development; show trails and significant features.
- A welcome outcome from this planning process would be a list of existing city parks (such as Bert Law Park, Rotary Peace Park) as well as areas that have significance and should be parks (such as Rock Gardens Park) and other important neighbourhood park-like areas (such as Porter Creek's Hidden Lake area). Some of this is listed in the 2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
- as drawn in the OCP, the park boundaries have never been carefully looked at, such as for for watershed land that should/could easily be within a Park. Note that Park outlines shown were copied from the very large-scale OCP Parks map, modified slightly by comparing to the 2012 Zoning maps.
Initial City thoughts
Following are from recent CASM minutes: January 9, 2014. Municipal Parks Structure Plan
- Dealing with 5 OCP parks as a system – framework allows City to be better situated to do individual park management plans
- "Wilderness City". These 5 parks are most invaluable areas and represent why people live here. Environment and EcDev reasons.
- Park designation provides public assurance of protection
- System plan will help define what "protect" means
- Covered what the project is not. This process will not review existing Snowmobile and ATV bylaws, or trail planning decisions already made. Further, this process will not include non-park areas within the Green Space Network Plan.
- Proposes to delay rewrite of bylaws until park plan done.
- Discussion on park name: Regional Park recommended.
- Would also like plan to address greenspaces outside of parks. Fallow land understood as park even though its slated for development – need to remind public
- Uncertain if we can do more than one future management plan at a time. Would be good to show public size of our parks in relation to other parks.
City Parks
"Prioritization of Trail Plan implementation measures shall be considered for these Park areas[click on map at right]. The City will work with stewards, user groups and interested residents to further define these unique areas within the City, subject to City resources.” 2010 OCP
- Parks are also listed in the Trail Plan, 2007; Inventory of Parks and trails
- The creation of these Regional Parks will ensure world-class wilderness at our door-step for future generations
- Designated by the 2010 OCP, the Urban Containment Boundary, shown as a pink oval, is where the City plans to focus growth.
On the map to the right, three of the parks are overlaid on the McIntyre Creek watershed (cyan outline) and McLean Lake watershed (thin orange outline).
- a significant part of McIntyre Creek Park, particularly middle and lower McIntyre Creek, is solidly within the UCB
- Paddy's Pond/Ice Lake Park is entirely within the UCB
- McIntyre Creek and McLean Lake parks are clearly in the Mount McIntyre recreation area
- Paddy's Pond/Ice Lake Park is the city's smallest OCP-designated park
2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan
Residents have expressed a desire to place more emphasis on trail planning and protection of green spaces.
Philosophy - The Benefits-Based Approach: ...responsive to community driven and personal recreation needs but places more focus on deriving long-term health and wellness outcomes that flow from a more holistic approach.
Foster and Promote Fitness and Overall Well-being: this objective refers to a holistic wellness of the mental, the emotional and the physical – the whole person; the City's role is to provide a range of leisure opportunities that appeal to all residents enabling them to achieve a minimum level of wellness no matter what their financial resources, skill or disability levels are.
Foster Reflection and Escape from Urban Form: since time immemorial, people have sought solace and solitude – or fellowship – in the natural world to mediate[meditate?] or to heal; the City's role is to provide safe, accessible opportunities for residents to experience the restorative effects of nature (e.g. Bert Law Park).
Challenges Identified
- The distinction between the purpose and uses permitted in designated parks, protected
areas, greenbelts and other open public open space is needs to be clarified.
- The public believes their concerns regarding the protection of open space are not being
adequately addressed.
- Trail use conflicts are perceived to be increasing and there is no dispute resolution
mechanism.
- Level and type of complaint based enforcement response to public concerns regarding litter,
vandalism and inappropriate trail use is not perceived to be satisfactory or effective.
- The City is not doing enough to protect environmentally sensitive areas and important
wildlife habitat.
- Citizens want more regular, formalized input into park and trail planning – there is a feeling of alienation, loss of empowerment for some while others seem to get a "veto".
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Paddy's Pond/Ice Lake Park
Our Hillcrest neighbourhood is very fortunate in having two bodies of water in our woods: Ice Lake and Paddy's Pond. The Ice Lake end of the park is very pretty, in now way pristine; while still nice, Paddy's Pond is a more 'used' pond, with rapidly changing water levels and intense trail use (and abuse.)The whole park area has long been a great place for walking with a real variety of routes and had mostly no motorized vehicles using the area. But around the time of the new Hamilton Blvd. extension and the culvert, things started to change. The culvert acted as a destination, attracting both walkers and motorized vehicles.
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Also, the new roadbed construction has caused water flow changes from springs in the area. The slumping on the new roadway near the culvert, as well as the winter icing of the floor of the culvert are two visible indicators. For Paddy's Pond, while water levels have varied in the past, recently the water has been consistently higher as shown by the size of the trees that are being drowned. With higher water levels and careless trail use by motorized recreational vehicles, already fragile trails have been made difficult for walking in some places and unpassable in others. Ice Lake also is seeing water level change, currently being higher than in recent times.
Let's look at an alternate, more natural, scenario for Paddy's Pond. Here's what one Hillcrest resident proposed
"One thing I had thought of is to build a mini wharf/dock type structure out into Paddy's Pond at the bottom of the toboggan hill. It could jut out past the willows and be edged with benches and railings as well as interpretive signage like those at McIntyre Creek.
This would block snowmobile traffic through that part of the pond in winter and make it so that people could sit and watch the very rich bird life on the pond in the warmer months. This could actually be part of a much longer interpretive walking trail through the whole wetland."
Another resident proposed cleaning up the toboggan hill, making it safe for people on the hill, trying to restore it to as it was in older days. It could become a family place, even more than it already is.
Much more about the area is discussed in the walking above the airport page.
McIntyre Creek Park
Mount McIntyre Recreation area: There's lots happening here — it's both a neighbourhood recreation area and a potential major destination. It contains the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club trails. It's also the source for McIntyre Creek.
MacLean Lake Park
Wolf Creek Park
Chadburn Lake Park
2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan
The formal establishment of the Chadburn Lakes Park and completion of a long overdue park management plan remain a priority. Both are key components of the new 10-year plan.