A new, triangle-shaped park is being planned in Collingwood’s south end.
During their March 18 council meeting, councillors were given an update on three parks projects making their way down the pipe: den Bok Park, Wilson-Sheffield Park and a new project tentatively named Triangle Park.
In their presentation, Dave Wood of Envision Tatham and the town’s director of parks, recreation and culture Dean Collver announced the new project, slated to go on a piece of town-owned land that is land-locked adjacent to the Hamilton Drain Trail, near southwest corner of Kirby Avenue between the Indigo Estates subdivision and Pretty River Estates subdivision.
“It’s an opportunity for us to serve the needs of Indigo and Pretty River,” said Collver, explaining that Triangle Park is the working title, and the name will be changed at a later time.
The park will maintain most of the tree canopy that exists, and will add a pedestrian bridge over the drain. There will be playground equipment and shade sails over the supervision space.
“It’s really unique,” said Wood. “It will have this forested, tree-fort vibe to it, which is exciting.”
Also as part of their presentation, Collver and Wood talked about two ongoing parks projects: den Bok Family Park and Wilson-Sheffield Park.
Den Bok Family Park will be in the Summitview subdivision at 31 Plewes Drive.
Under the current design, the park will include a playground, a community gathering space under a pavilion, a large lawn area that could be converted into a temporary natural skating rink, an internal walkway/trail system, a multi-use sports pad, bike racks and seating.
The town’s goal was to have construction completed on the park by the end of 2024.
“There was a strong message to us, that (neighbours) were looking to have nature prioritized, and they were looking to have amenities geared to all ages and abilities,” said Wood.
Wilson-Sheffield Park will land on a 1.25-hectare site beside Admiral Collingwood Elementary School on Dey Drive.
The park will include basketball facilities, six pickleball courts and three tennis courts. Following feedback from the public, the park will now include a full basketball court, rather than the two half courts originally proposed.
“There really isn’t a place in Collingwood to play full-court basketball outside, so the design was amended after that feedback,” explained Wood.
An accessible children’s playground is also included in the design as well as an outdoor fitness circuit with calisthenic workout stations along the adjacent trail network which will connect with the Train Trail.
The proposed design includes a 200-square-metre building to house toilets, and sports storage. The building's exterior will include a shaded area and a green roof is also being considered for the building.
The parking lot will be shared with the school to help with overflow parking. Bike racks and seating will also be included.
During discussion, Collver was reluctant to provide opening dates for any of the parks at this time.
“We try hard not to predict, especially when we’re in the design phases,” he said.
