Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

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VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN Final Report • June 2013 High Park Designed by the Olmstead Brothers in 1836, the park has seen over 175 years of change. Like Victoria Park, the Eastern Promenade has coped with changing demands and uses over time. While the original form has been slightly lost beneath the newer functions, the park manages to successfully contain a range of potentially conflicting uses. Since its inception, sheep fields have been converted to ball fields, carriage paths have been converted to roads, and about a quarter of the original park has been lost to a water treatment facility. Because the park has managed to stay current, adopting its form to changing needs, it remains one of the most successful and well-loved parks in the city. However, like Victoria Park, the Eastern Promenade also suffers from a disjointed use of spaces, and poor wayfinding. A master plan written for the park in 2004 recommended improved signage, upgraded utility services, vegetation management strategy, better organized pedestrian routes, and the decommissioning of some underused ball fields. The changes were primarily geared toward reconnecting and reorganizing similar zones, and reinvigorating the infrastructural management. High Park in Toronto is a 400-acre park established in the same decade as Victoria Park. The park is mixed use, with passive wooded natural areas, walking trails, and athletic areas. High Park is surrounded on three sides by residential areas, and bounded on the fourth by a highway. The park contains numerous passive and active recreational opportunities and is also home to historic buildings, monuments, and gardens. One third of the park remains in a natural state and is a focal point for educational opportunities. The park was opened to the public in 1876 and due to its prominence in the neighbourhood has always had a positive relationship with its citizens. The park has a unique community-based governance model and maintains autonomy over many of its own internal budgeting and decision-making processes. Though High Park remains under the direct management of the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department, many of its inherent features, including the zoo, the children’s garden, the lodge, and the nature centre are overseen by a community-based organization. This system allows the park to be more responsive to the needs and concerns of its user groups and fosters a sense of ownership within the community. This system also allows for greater flexibility and internal oversight of its finances, programs, and maintenance; making the park directly accountable to its users. Self-governance is a strategy uniquely suited for parks that maintain prominent positions in the community. 34
Final Report • June 2013 VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN Victoria Park, Truro, NS Victoria Park is a 400-acre park in the heart of Truro, a town with a population approximately half that of Charlottetown. Victoria Park, Truro was established in 1887, the same era as Victoria Park Charlottetown, and is dominated by Lepper Brook, a quick flowing stream with several scenic waterfalls. Lepper Brook flows through a dramatic ravine, its steep walls creating various micro-climates and hiking experiences. There are several active spaces, with baseball, tennis, pools, and playgrounds, but the majority of the 400 acres are dominated by old growth forest. The trail system throughout the park is designated as multi-use. Conflicts have been noted, but nothing significant has been reported. Off-trail biking has caused damage to some wilderness areas of the park, and the Parks and Recreation Department is currently looking for solutions. Given the terrain, the trails are far more demanding than those found in Victoria Park Charlottetown. Although all trails are designated as multi-use, pedestrian and bicycle conflicts are reduced through the use of varying materials, which can be more or less conducive to bikes. Steep grades and rough terrain also naturally separate user types. Unlike Victoria Park Charlottetown, there is no major loop road for people passing through the park. Victoria Park Truro is essentially a ‘dead end’ experience, with the majority of users entering and exiting the park from the same location. Vehicles do not play a major role in the park. The outdoor pool was opened in 2004 and includes a toddler pool, water slide, lane swimming, diving, and a splash pad component. The fully accessible pool and pool area also include a deck and gazebo. The pool incorporates a zero entry edge allowing full and easy access to walking impaired individuals. All active zones in Victoria Park Truro are clustered near the entrance, creating a dynamic and popular node of activity. Uses are not highly scattered, rather they are compacted together, creating a clear division between active and passive recreational uses. This helps to maintain the forest ecology by reducing the foot traffic and eliminating the need for people to create shortcuts through the woods as they perambulate from point to point. Separating uses and sparing the forest from excess cross traffic is a feature of Victoria Park Truro which can be applied to Victoria Park Charlottetown. 35
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Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

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