Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

More documents

Recommendations

Info

VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN Final Report • June 2013 Phase Two: Public Engagement Victoria Park is the Crown Jewel of Charlottetown’s open space system, and belongs not only to the City, but to all the residents of Prince Edward Island. Its future uses and development must be reflective of the vision of the Community, and must be based on the unique set of values defined as part of the consultation process. Public Workshop A public visioning workshop was held on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013, at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel. Approximately 60 people attended the workshop, which led participants through a three-part visioning exercise. In small groups of six to eight people, participants talked about their core values for Victoria Park. Core values were defined for the purpose of this exercise as those aspects or attributes of the Park that are both essential and transcend the Park’s evolution. Some of the key values that emerged from this exercise included heritage, sustainability, recreation, and connection. For the second part of the workshop, participants were asked to discuss Victoria Park’s program of uses. Questions posed at each table for participants to review included: »» what do we want the park to become »» list the facilities / amenities that you presently use in the park. »» list the facilities / amenities that you would like to see added to the park. »» are any existing facilities no longer relevant »» should the City be looking at the acquisition of the Prince Edward Home lands Participants were given a large scale map of the park, and encouraged to draw their vision for the park. This is often a fun task, and many of the tables engaged in lively discussion about Victoria Park’s past, present, and future. For the final task, participants were asked to bring it all together, and explore if there was an overlap of the core values at their table, and how those values align with the existing Park and a future vision for the Park. Following the table chats, the entire group reconvened for a lively discussion. Opinions on the park ranged from a shift towards a much more natural park space, to the desire to preserve the status quo, to a desire to see a focus on better vehicle and transportation access. Unquestionably, almost every participant reiterated the importance of the Park to not only the City of Charlottetown, but to the Province and to the Maritime Region as a whole. 2.1 Public Consultation Wordle 4
Final Report • June 2013 VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN Focus Group Workshop A focus group workshop was held the following day, Thursday March 7th, 2013, also at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel. At this session, representatives from some of the primary user groups in the park were invited to provide their ideas and input into the project. Approximately 30 different groups were invited, based on a list generated by the City of Charlottetown, and eight participants attended this workshop. The workshop followed a similar format to the Public Vision workshop, where participants were asked a series of questions on the values of Victoria Park, and how those relate to present and future uses. Although each participant arrived with a specific focus or area of interest, there was still a considerable amount of common ground between groups. Their unique understanding of the park’s dynamics gave rise to the following ideas: »» Victoria Park needs to be more ‘secure.’ Security means not just preventing vandalism, or thievery, but also addressing the general safety of visitors and their possessions by having better organized parking lots, wider bus turnarounds for visiting teams, etc. It was also noted that although parking is necessary for many of the activities in the park, there is no requirement that the parking needs to be near those activities. A culture of ‘park and walk’ needs to be encouraged, especially in a recreational athletic situation. »» The idea that the circumferential Park Roadway is being used for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians is untenable. Alternate circulation routes need to be established. Additionally, these routes need to be clearly marked and better advertised through an improved wayfinding program. »» The park needs more space for art spaces and arts-oriented outreach programs. Ideally, this would be achieved through the acquisition of the Prince Edward Hospital lands. Staff Workshop On Wednesday March 6th, 2013 Ekistics conducted a workshop with the maintenance and operations staff of the Charlottetown Parks and Recreation Division. Parks Superintendent Nancy McMinn, Parkland Conservationist Beth Hoar, and Parks Foreman Dean Worth were also present. Given their unique understanding of the park’s internal workings, it was essential to the development of the plan that the ideas and input from staff were included, with a specific focus on improving the functionality of the park. The issues raised from City staff may be grouped into the following: »» The idea that Victoria Park should have greater autonomy, with its own oversight, leadership, budget, maintenance, management, and representative. As a unique entity, separate and distinct from the rest of the park system, Victoria Park could better manage events, schedules, recreational and environmental concerns. This would help the park to achieve and maintain its unique place within the civic/ provincial open space system. »» The boardwalk, while extremely popular, is very difficult to maintain. The construction does not wear well, and requires constant maintenance and update. Coupled with the bicycle / automobile / pedestrian conflicts along the Park Roadway, the entire edge cross section of the park requires further consideration. »» Vandalism is an issue and needs to be addressed through better lighting, more security, increased visibility, and more public outreach. »» Maintenance staff have limited storage and need for better facilities, not just for Victoria Park, but for the park system as a whole. Given its centralized location, the ideal place for a secondary maintenance hub would be Victoria Park. An updated maintenance area should be built to allow for more efficient use of materials and staff, especially during the busy summer season. »» Victoria Park is a great space for smaller events, between 2,000 and 4,000 people, but larger events should be held elsewhere. » » Staff is willing to explore and work with some dog park options, and recognizes that it will be a big issue in the coming design program. Currently there are some minor dog conflicts, and a lot of associated clean-up. 5
Page 1 and 2: Final Report • June 2013 VICTORIA
Page 11: Final Report • June 2013 VICTORIA
Page 47 and 48: Final Report • June 2013 4.1 Guid
Page 63 and 64:
Final Report • June 2013 VICTORIA
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Final Report • June 2013 Recommen
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
5. How Final long Report have you
Page 121 and 122:
13. How Final important Report •
Page 123 and 124:
22. What Final new Report elements
Page 125 and 126:
Page 5, Q2. What issues do you feel
Page 127 and 128:
Page 5, Q3. What new elements would
Page 129 and 130:
Page 5, Q4. Please add any addition
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES!.
Page 139 and 140:
1.0 INTRODUCTION ! In!February!2013
Page 141 and 142:
Edward!was!located!on!Great!George!
Page 143 and 144:
Figure!4.2;!7:!Delegates!at!the!Cha
Page 145 and 146:
depiction"of"a"planned"rather"than"
Page 147 and 148:
Figure'4.2+'16:'1935'aerial'photogr
Page 149 and 150:
Figure'4.3+'2:'Modern'map'of'Victor
Page 151:
In"the"event"that"archaeological"re
show all

Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?