The City of 91大黄鸭 is prioritizing parks and public spaces in the city鈥檚 2019 budget and for one group in 91大黄鸭, this could be especially good news.
The city will allocate around $8 million to acquire, expand and develop new parks, while another $1.4 million will be spent on improvements to existing parks.
PLAN91大黄鸭, a small group of residents pushing for more parks and access to the shoreline, said more parks are better for the city.
鈥淚 would like to see an increase in the amount of parks in general,鈥� said one of the group鈥檚 organizers, Al Janusas.
鈥淓specially on the lakeshore because that would be really good for residents and tourism, and depending on who you talk to, (tourism) is one of our top industries here.鈥�
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City of 91大黄鸭鈥檚 senior project manager Andrew Gibbs said some projects targeted in the budget include the installation of the turf field at Glenmore Recreation Park, restoring a section of the Paul鈥檚 Tomb Trail and replacing the 50-year-old playground equipment at Bankhead Park.
鈥淓very year we work on a variety of projects to both improve existing parks and develop new ones,鈥� he said.
The city will also work with the 91大黄鸭 Minor Fastball Society to replace fencing and bleachers and improve the dugouts at High Noon Park. Both parties are providing $50,000 for the improvements.
鈥淚nvestments in projects such as these鈥攑articularly when they involve collaborating with a local organization or sports groups鈥攕upport our effort to create an active, inclusive and vibrant city,鈥� Gibbs said.
91大黄鸭 boasts more than 200 parks that serve a number of purposes and activities, including cricket, bocce, BMX, basketball and outdoor table tennis.
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Janusas said although the development of new buildings and infrastructure has been prominent in this city council鈥檚 agenda, the group was pleased to see a sign installed at an 鈥渁lmost park鈥� near Knox Mountain last week.
鈥淭ake a drive out and have a look and you鈥檒l see what I mean,鈥� he said about the 鈥渁lmost park鈥� at Poplar Point Drive. 鈥淭hey cleaned up the site a little bit and added signage.鈥�
鈥淭he 鈥榓lmost park鈥� and the path down to the lake is completely surrounded by hillside houses and local residents who don鈥檛 have waterfront access have been using that as a personal path to the lake for many years,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t was, and remains, a rugged path.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e all in favour of that,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, we鈥檙e in favour of building really basic parks and improving them as the budget allows.鈥�
Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com
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