Public Information Meeting - February 18, 2021
Please review the presentation and the questions, comments and answers that were discussed at the meeting.
Summary of Questions, Comments & Responses
Can we find a way to make the ball park area, which is more than a third of the park, more multi-use? It is vacant most days. In winter, we do enjoy part of it as a skating rink. But the rest of the year it is very seldom used. Could it be used as a small dog park with better gating? Or for other uses?
The baseball diamond is currently well used and accommodates play for people living outside of the Strathcona neighbourhood. It is fully programmed with baseball games through the summer months and used as an ice rink in the winter months. Despite these uses, the diamond also offers opportunities for more passive uses such as walking, informal play or sitting. Like many features in Victoria Park, we try to strike a balance between demographics and user needs, and how these spaces may change over time.
There was some work on the Victoria Park baseball diamond earlier this week. What was happening there any why?
Parks Operations staff removed some of the sport lighting for the diamond. The lights were beyond their life cycle replacement. There were also some concerns with the safety of the structures. They were removed, as a result. There is currently a temporary light fixture near the skating rink, which will be permanently installed so that people enjoying evening skating can continue to do so.
Who can we contact if we'd like to see other changes to Victoria Park? (i.e. the addition of a community fridge or pantry)
The Councillor's Office can assist residents with these types of inquiries and work with the appropriate City staff for further consideration.
Beyond these improvements, what are some of the next stages of the Victoria Park plan?
At this time, there are no further improvements planned beyond those discussed.Staff are in the process of undertaking a Recreation Master Plan, examining indoor and outdoor recreational amenities. This will help inform how we plan for and maintain existing and new amenities in the future. There will be opportunity for community engagement during the Master Plan process in the months ahead.
What did the archeological dig discover?
The archaeological dig uncovered remnants of the foundation of the former Crystal Palace that once stood in the park. This discovery will inform the design and construction of new park improvements in the vicinity of the dig locations.
Are the foundations discovered in a condition such that they could be incorporated into the sun shelter, or as a historical display feature?
The foundations of the Crystal Palace structure will remain underground and undisturbed; however, City staff are looking to incorporate design elements into the new sun shelter that could celebrate the historical character of the former structure.
There is little to no art in the park. How can we prioritize adding more? Sculpture, murals, anything that might complement the site and enhance the cultural element.
Public art is an important feature of parks and open spaces in our city. There are opportunities to look into how this park, and other parks across the City, can further incorporate public art by partnering with organizations and exploring funding grants that support ‘placemaking’ efforts. These efforts would require a more consultative approach, beyond the scope of this project. If interested in getting involved with public art or placemaking opportunities, contact the Ward 1 office.
Will the Central Park redevelopment be complete before work begins at Victoria Park? The park serves a lot of families and at least one of these parks should be available.
Construction for Central Park is scheduled for summer 2021. The City anticipates the work at Central Park to be completed by the time construction begins at Victoria Park.
What is the pool renewal timeline (estimated)?
Ongoing maintenance to the existing pool and pool house (ex. new paint, mechanical repairs, etc.) will continue throughout the next several years. Large-scale renewal / reconstruction to the overall pool and pool house is part of a 10 year capital renewal plan.
Will the pool be enlarged?
City staff are undertaking a feasibility study of the site. The assessment will help staff understand which systems (mechanical systems, electronic systems, pool systems) are at the end of their life cycle. The feasibility study will also consider design options for the pool renewal and part of those considerations include assessing the need to enlarge the existing structure or reconfigure its current layout and the associated costs attached.
Will the spray pad be accessible all the time? We don't want anything like Coronation Park that is fenced in and part of the pool area.
The spray pad will remain in a location that is always accessible to residents.
Why doesn’t the spray pad work? The spray jets fail occasionally. It seems to work fine when we have used it.
The existing spray pad has failed in the past and Parks Operations staff have had to repair certain components. City staff want to be proactive with its replacement, recognizing that planning, design, and construction take time. Rather than respond to a failing spray pad, staff are initiating this project now, so that the community doesn't face a loss of this amenity for an extended period.
Was there any conversation about placing the spray pad and pool in the same programmatic block? It might work better functionally and might reduce cost by combining two scopes of work into one.
City staff did discuss this matter. Staff want to ensure that the spray pad remains fully accessible to all users and not be fenced in with the pool area. In this case, since the existing spray pad is already a separate feature from the pool, the underground servicing is already provided at its current location so utilizing the current location makes sense from a cost standpoint. We do understand that there is a balance of needs that need to be considered when siting these amenities.
Has the availability of newer parging compounds been investigated for the spray pad, as opposed to complete replacement? Are there cost effective compounds available that could be applied - compounds that would possess durability for lengthy usage?
Currently, the concrete surface at the spray pad has many cracks, some of which could develop into a trip hazard. Due to this and other end of life cycle failures, the spray pad can no longer be maintained as is, and will be replaced.
What about parging around the pool? Would parging be a reasonable cost-effective alternative?
All solutions are currently being reviewed by Facility Operations staff. Parging the pool basin would smooth out some of the current pitted areas, however this would be considered a ‘band aid’ type fix as parging has a relatively short lifespan of 5-10 years, and would require ongoing upkeep. The pool basin itself is in relatively good shape and is low on the priority list for upgrades / improvements. Facility Operations staff are currently focusing their efforts on looking for solutions to keep the pool running, and this typically involves the ‘back of house’ / out of public sight areas (filter and boiler replacements).
Why has it taken so long for the spray pad to be replaced/renewed? Several of the wading pool conversion spray pads have been redone a couple of times over (i.e. Gage Park, Powell Park)
City staff provide ongoing performance assessments of spray pads in all parks. The current spray pad performed well over the last 20 years, and as such, did not require replacement as early as those in other parks. It has now reached the end of its life cycle and the time is right to replace the amenity.
With respect to the spray pad replacement, the playground replacement pales in comparison to what we had before and I am weary that the replacement of the spray pad will be equivalent. Can you comment?
The City's approach to how these park amenities get replaced has changed over the years. Whereas the City replaced playground structures historically using a 'like-for-like' approach (ex. a slide replaced with a slide), the strategy now is to undertake public consultation to better understand the larger context and recreational needs of the park and residents in the neighbourhood. This new approach informs how these types of amenities get replaced. In addition, additional funding from Ward Councillors’ area rating/other sources contributes to increased play structure development opportunities.
Is the location of the shade shelter definite? It seems silly to put it in a location that is in shade for half the day.
There is some flexibility in the exact location of the sun shelter. City staff are looking at what site constraints exist and how the relationship between the sun shelter, spray pad, and playground can be fully optimized.
I can appreciate the "traffic" issue that occurs at the splash pad. While shifting things to solve that, could it also be considered important to maintain sight lines between splash pad/pool/playground as families often have children playing in two different areas. Is it possible to place the sun shelter closer to the playground where there are currently no mature trees? Is it possible to put the splash pad along the east side of the pool fencing? I think that would be preferred to moving the splash pad further east in the park for easier supervision of multiple children.
City staff are examining circulation and spatial relationships very closely and understand that families use various park amenities simultaneously. As mentioned above, staff are examining how the relationship between the sun shelter, spray pad, and playground can be fully optimized through the new design
The current gazebo in the park is currently full of garbage and broken glass and is just a smoking hut. Is there any worry of this with a larger one?
The new sun shelter will be situated near other park amenities (playground, spray pad). The intent is that a better spatial relationship to other features will allow more people to use it, thereby reducing vandalism and neglect. A larger, more open, and more durable sun shelter structure will also help achieve this overall intent.
Has the topic of pedestrian safety been part of this plan? Other parks around the city are surrounded by speed humps as a traffic calming measure and Victoria park has none. With an upgraded park, pool, and a school across the street, we will see more pedestrians, so hopefully speed humps can be considered as part of this plan.
Pedestrian safety / traffic calming / street design are not part of the scope of this work; however, the Ward 1 office is working closely with Transportation Planning and Transportation Operations and Maintenance staff to assess how streets in the Strathcona neighbourhood can be made safer for pedestrians and cyclists through physical design interventions. Other recent initiatives like CityLab (a partnership between the City and its post secondary institutions: McMaster, Mohawk, and Redeemer) have generated interest and discussion around traffic calming and pedestrian safety and the Ward 1 office is prioritizing this issue in the community.
If older trees need to be removed, how can we align with some of the intentions of the Urban Forestry initiatives that the City is trying to establish - i.e. that you cannot replace "like for like" an established tree with a young sapling?
When a tree is removed, we are required to compensate with its equivalent. This means that City staff would plant several young trees (typically 2-3m tall, with a 5cm trunk width) to replace a mature tree. As transplanting mature trees is not highly successful, Parks staff work closely with Forestry staff to determine how many trees are required to replace those that had to be removed.
