The next event for the Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan will be held on Saturday, June 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Foster Park, located on Sanderson Road in Parksville.
In partnership with the Friends of Foster Park, the City of Parksville announced last week that the Spring Mini Parks event will feature games, food and information about the master plan project.
Results from the Parks on the Street event, held in March, will be available and there will be additional opportunities to provide feedback through a “dotmocracy” voting activity for participants to provide opinions on a series of options and ideas about city parks and trails network.
The VIU students serving as master plan consultants promise this will be a fun and interactive event and hope to see many Parksville residents at Foster Park on June 9, the city stated in a written release.
Foster Park is an example of one of Parksville’s neighbourhood parks. Neighbourhood parks are interspersed throughout the city and are equipped with varying facilities.
Foster Park is 2.72 hectares of park land tucked away just off Pym Street. There is a large gazebo which can be rented for special events, picnic tables and benches, and a recently upgraded playground. The city release described Foster Park as, “The perfect spot for a quiet family afternoon or a child’s outdoor birthday party.”
The results of the information gathered during public engagement sessions, which will be taking place throughout the year, will be presented to the community prior to bringing the draft forward to council in early 2019.
Research and engagement with residents, visitors, community groups and organizations will be used to provide data and information for council and city staff, to inform decision making processes to enhance the city’s parks system and create the Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan.
Working with Master of Community Planning Program students from Vancouver Island University, the City of Parksville is updating the Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Park Master Plan. This master plan project involves extensive analysis and asset inventory of all city park spaces, detailed GIS mapping, a qualitative assessment of park spaces, an evaluation of parks and trails connectivity and a needs/gap analysis.
— NEWS staff/ City of Parksville release
