Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
Final Report • June 2013
Youth Workshop
It was decided early on that an important criteria for this master plan would be its
comprehensive approach to addressing a wide cross-section of stakeholders - from every
age, income, and lifestyle demographic. Since youth are often overlooked, or often do not /
cannot participate in traditional public meetings, a design workshop was held on Thursday,
March 7th at the Colonel Gray Senior High School with a senior leadership class taught by
Chris Huggan. Interestingly, the issues brought up by the leadership class were typically in
sync with the issues brought up during the open public workshop of the previous evening.
Like the public meeting, the youth workshop participants were separated into smaller groups
and asked to identify themes, and associated actions. The general ideas were as follows:
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There should be more sports oriented activities in the park. Victoria Park currently lacks a soccer field,
and any basketball courts, two of the most popular sports.
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Victoria Park has an awkward and disjointed internal trail system which could use revision. There are no
metered loop trails in the park, the addition of which would bring a distance-conscious running crowd
to the park, help to activate the interior, and dissuade negative activities within the forested sections of
the park.
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Water access needs to be improved as there are not many opportunities for canoe or kayak usage at
the park. Swimming should occur in the ocean, but there is a public opinion (rightly or wrongly) that the
water is not clean enough. This could be mitigated through a the creation of new water access points.
Key Interviews
A series of interviews and follow-up conversations were held with interest group
representatives who either could not attend the workshop, or who wanted an
additional opportunity to provide input into the study. Many of the ideas and input
that arose during these focused conversations supported and reiterated the ideas and
feedback that emerged from other public engagement opportunities, and helped to
further support the emerging values and ideas being generated by the community.
Council Working Session
On the evening of Thursday, March 7th, Ekistics was given the opportunity to present
the plan’s approach to City Council and take a reading of their ideas and opinions. All
Councillors were present and included Councillor Edward Rice, Ward 1; Councillor Daniel
Redmond, Ward 2; Councillor Rob Lantz, Ward 3; Councillor Mitchell Tweel, Ward 4;
Councillor Sterling MacFadyen, Ward 5; Councillor David MacDonald, Ward 6; Councillor
Cecil Villard, Ward 7; Councillor Jason Coady, Ward 8; Councillor Melissa Hilton, Ward
9; Councillor Terence Bernard, Ward 10; Mayor Clifford Lee; CAO Roy Main; and Phil
Handrahan, Director of Fiscal & Developmental Services.
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Victoria Park could be an all-day event space except that there are limited opportunities for food. An
expanded canteen, or more food options would make day-long visits more feasible for families and
visitors.
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