A concept proposed for a splash pad at Harbourview Park includes natural materials, and a winding, multi-level pattern set in a treed area.
Dean Collver, director of Parks, Recreation, and Culture for Collingwood, presented an early, high-level design to the corporate and community services standing committee on Monday night (Nov. 4).
Collver’s presentation included an overview of ideas for Harbourview Park, but the main idea was the splash pad, or waterplay feature, as he called it.
His presentation included photos of other waterplay features bordered by rock walls and trees, with jets shooting up from the ground.
“These are representative images for how we’re going to move forward,” said Collver, adding the town is working with an expert on a final design that will go to the public for comments.
He said the town used both the Waterfront Master Plan and the concept from the Awen Gathering Circle to come up with an idea Collver said would be complementary to the site.
The water play feature is slated for the southwest side of the park near Cedar Street, and the design includes a washroom/mechanical building as well as an outdoor change room and shower.
The town will also be looking at efficient uses of water on-site including water recycling and using grey water for irrigation.
Initially, the waterfront master plan envisioned a one-kilometre skating loop that would double as a splash pad in the summer. Collver said staff is abandoning the idea as it was proposed in the master plan.
He said the current Central Park outdoor arena sees six to eight weeks (max. 10) of good weather with solid ice, and the rest of the winter “it’s a struggle.”
“We had difficulty reconciling the energy consumption required,” said Collver.
Additionally, there are constraints on the property.
Harbourview Park is the site of a closed former landfill. David Wood, an engineer with Envision Tatham, hired by the town as the architectural firm for the Harbourview Park project, told the committee there are recommended buffer zones for buildings near a former landfill site.
The actual footprint of the old landfill also offers “no structural bearing capacity,” according to Wood.
“The structural engineers could not give it a value … it might as well have been popcorn,” said Wood.
The Awen Gathering Circle is built on the former landfill site, but crews used steel piles down to the bedrock to support the structure.
He said the trash under the ground at the site mostly includes automotive hose, carpet, and glass, so there’s nothing considered hazardous for park use.
Since the land around the landfill must be kept empty, Collver said staff moved the water play feature, and it helped confirm the decision to abandon the outdoor skating loop.
Collver said there is a section of the park left as green space in the initial designs that could be an outdoor rink someday.
The concept presented by Collver also includes an area for more parking spaces, and an Awen Cultural Centre with an events patio. Collver said the cultural centre was something envisioned through the Waterfront Master Plan, but called it an “opportunity space” and its final use and design was not set in stone.
Currently, the town is working on consultation with First Nations for the plan on the site, and will be getting a final design for a public open house in the future. Following that, staff will develop a tender for the project and will seek approval in the 2020 budget process.
For the complete presentation including site plan photos, click here.
