Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

Final Report • June 2013
VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
Situational Analysis
Charlottetown has some truly unique characteristics that require consideration as the City
contemplates recreational and park and open space planning in Victoria Park for today and the
future.
Like many smaller communities across Canada, and a feature more pronounced in communities
throughout Atlantic Canada, Prince Edward Island, and Charlottetown specifically have aging
populations that will soon peak and begin to decline shortly after peaking. Neither projected
net migration nor natural regeneration of population will forestall the population decline that
will be accompanied by an increasing average age. This trend has implications for recreation
planning for the existing Charlottetown community. Older age cohorts have very different
recreational needs than their younger counterparts. For example, families with young children
tend to demand more organized sporting opportunities, and the facilities required to host
these opportunities, as opposed to older adults who tend to focus on less formal or more
self-directed fitness opportunities and recreation such as walking or running. As older cohorts
continue to age, however, trails that had been used for walking must be able to accommodate
those with mobility issues. Flexibility and adaptability of park spaces and facilities will become
more important in the context of an aging demographic with evolving needs.
Each year Charlottetown (and PEI) witnesses a seasonal growth in population of up to eight
times the permanent population, mainly during the summer months. Although recreation
and park planning should focus specifically on the taxpaying community that supports the
investment, Victoria Park is without question an attraction to visitors as well as residents.
Seasonal and short-term visitors are more likely to enjoy open spaces that are accessible
throughout the day, and offer use options that require no advanced planning or registration.
More recently there have been a number of programs designed to attract retirees back to PEI, a
strategy shared in common with other Atlantic Provinces, and one advanced by both the private
sector as well as economic development agencies throughout the region. The pitch focuses on
the relatively inexpensive real estate, low cost of living, considerable natural beauty, and highquality
of life that the Maritimes offer, and is directed at both newcomers and former residents.
In a global economy where people can literally live and work anywhere in the world, often a
community’s competitive currency includes the elements that comprise the quality of life. The
quality and the flexibility of park and open space is an important part of the equation when it
comes to newcomer attraction and retention.
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