During an April 4 council meeting, City administration provided council with an outline of the proposed next steps in planning the northeast regional park – a proposed municipal park to be situated on 185 acres of recently purchased land – to service Airdrie’s growing population.
Ann Wood, land administrator for the City of Airdrie, presented council with the suggested planning process which would include land planning, the creation of a master site plan, determination of outdoor amenities, and the discussion and phasing of land development.
She said a master site plan will help establish where the chosen amenities will be placed, their budget, necessary phasing, and will be determined with the help of data gathered through the City’s recently completed Indoor and Outdoor Recreation Facilities Needs Assessment.
“We’ll draw on this information as a foundational piece of work, which will avoid a duplication of effort,” she said. “We want to harmonize our work around the northeast regional park with the feedback Airdrie residents have already provided through the community needs assessment.”
The study, undertaken by third-party consulting company HarGroup Management and Consultants, sought to gauge the public’s need and preference for various recreational facilities in the community. It is intended to serve as a tool in determining amenities for both the future southwest multi-purpose recreational facility and northeast regional park.
Findings of the study were presented to council during a regular meeting on March 7, concluding the public supported additional outdoor recreation amenities in the community such as a ball diamond, rectangular sports field, and tennis/pickleball courts.
Two-thirds of respondents indicated they would make use of a northeast regional park, and many indicated the desire for novel amenities such as climbing walls, playgrounds, and community gardens.
According to Wood, the land administration team will build on these findings, following the City’s community service department’s efforts to determine outdoor amenities at the future southwest recreation centre.
“Once the outdoor amenities for the recreation centre have been determined by council, we can really begin our work to understand what amenities would be located in the northeast regional park,” she said. “Collectively, we want to meet our current community needs while planning for our future needs.”
Wood added while an analysis can begin on potential outdoor amenities for the park, work cannot be completed until outdoor amenities have been determined for the southwest recreation centre.
She said the next steps will be to analyze potential amenities, look at outdoor amenities favoured by residents, discuss costs and associated infrastructure, estimate operating costs and revenue, and finally to look at amenities located at other parks throughout the city.
“What we’re aiming to do is build a picture for you that sets out how the priorities can be met in terms of timelines and costs,” Wood said, adding once amenities have been finalized at the outdoor recreation centre, the team can refine their list and complete a cost assessment.
She added in the second half of the year, the administration team will reach out to clubs and groups who have indicated a desire to contribute financially to the project and will seek to confirm what contribution amount can be made towards the project.
The team will also seek to confer with neighbours of the regional park including Croxford Estates, Hamilton Green residents, as well as other regional park neighbours.
“We’ll share our approach to planning the park and hear any concerns they have about the park now so we can be thinking about ways to address their concerns when we start drafting the master site plan,” she said.
Wood added the City will not be re-engaging with the public in determining amenities for the park but will refer solely to the community needs assessment.
“Once we have this direction, we will begin preparing the master site plan which will allocate space for the park’s amenities,” she said. “As data is analyzed and options are prepared, we’ll return to hear your comments and receive your direction which will guide the master site plan, the park amenities, and phases of development.”
Following the presentation, Coun. Ron Chapman voiced his excitement about the project that is still in its infancy.
“I can’t wait to get this rolling and get to the planning of this park,” he said. “I think this is going to be such a fantastic addition for the City of Airdrie.”
