Ontario Construction News staff writer
Oakville council recently approved key community infrastructure projects including a new community centre, library branch, sports fields and other outdoor amenities at North Park as well as a new skateboard park at Cornwall Park.
In addition, the town will look at purchasing the former reservoir site from the Region of Halton for a new public park.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the detail design work on the expansion of Sixteen Mile Sports Complex to include a new community centre and library and the RFP for the outdoor amenities at North Park were issued. The RFP for the Cornwall Park Skateboard Park is expected to be issued by early fall.
“There has been a surge in demand for the use of parks, open space and community infrastructure in Oakville due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Rob Burton.
“This trend towards increased use of recreational amenities is projected to continue for several years and the importance of being active for one’s mental physical health has never been more important, which is why in March council directed staff to identify resources and costs related to accelerating on these highly valued facilities and amenities for our community.”
Throughout the pandemic, Oakville has reported an “unprecedented increase” in the use of local parkland and community facilities by town residents and visitors.
Anticipating this trend to continue for several years, the Town of Oakville saw the opportunity to create new public spaces to not only benefit the community but to also alleviate overcrowding and the impacts of overuse.
The following provides highlights about these important projects:
North Park
Based on council’s endorsed 2017 Parks, Recreation and Library Facilities (PRLF) Master Plan, North Park will include:
- Outdoor amenities including two additional lit multi-purpose fields, cricket pitch, skateboard park, BMX park, basketball court, splash pad, children’s playground, a fieldhouse and washroom facility in addition to the existing two fields and off leash dog park currently on site.
- Community centre – a multi-use community centre, approximately 55,000-60,000 square feet, is projected to include aquatic facilities, fitness/active living centre, flexible multi-use space to accommodate seniors, youth and cultural programming and gymnasiums.
- Library branch – the branch will be about 17,500 square feet in size consisting of many popular features including work and study spaces (including collaboration spaces), reading and conversation areas, children’s and teen spaces, flexible programming spaces as well as public Computers / Wi-Fi.
The location of the library and the community centre will allow for increased synergies for space use and complementary programming. The community centre and library complex would be an addition to the existing Sixteen Mile Sports Complex to maximize the efficiency of energy flow between the facilities and to streamline building operations and programming.
Skateboard park at Cornwall Park
Council approved acceleration of the construction of the new Cornwall Park skateboard park which would see design, construction and final landscaping completed in 2021.
New parkland
The town will be seeking to purchase the former reservoir site from the Region of Halton for a new public park. The site, located at 2273 Trafalgar Rd., is approximately 0.7 ha (1.7 acres) and provides good connectivity to existing east/west trails along the TransCanada and Interprovincial pipeline corridors.