New redevelopment plan inside Saint John’s Rockwood Park made public
A preliminary plan for the third phase of redevelopment inside Rockwood Park in Saint John, N.B., was made public on Thursday.
“The main goal of this project is to enhance the duck pond area and interpretive centre decking, and rehabilitate that,” said Marco Sivitilli of GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and Scientists Limited, one of the plan’s designers.
Part of the $1.5 million project will include widening of the roadway along Fisher Lakes Drive between Lily Lake and the duck pond, allowing for a walkway and multi-use trail to be built. The park’s Stonehammer Geosite and rock-climbing wall will also be developed to address safety concerns.
Sivitilli said construction was expected to be finished by the end of 2022.
Early reaction to the park’s latest redevelopment plan appeared to be positive Thursday, including from people who were initially skeptical of any additions.
“All I heard was, ‘Rockwood Park development,' and I’ve been involved in the fight against that before when there was the idea of selling off parts of the park,” says Phillip Blaney, referring to the scuttled plan to rezone portions of the area in 2018. “So, that was my worst fear.”
Blaney said the preliminary plan he looked at would enhance what’s already on the ground.
“It’s an improvement and it will be something we’ll all get to enjoy and I’m pleased with that,” said Blaney.
Bill Gardiner said he walked in Rockwood Park every day and called the redevelopment plan “reasonably good.” Gardener said he was in the process of finishing work on a complete history of the park.
“My main interest in the park is just the basic maintenance of the trails and pathways and the infrastructure we already have, rather than redeveloping it into something completely new and different,” said Gardiner.
“Most of the people who use the park that I meet are here for the wilderness areas and not so much the developed areas around Lily Lake and the Fisher Lakes.”
Michael Saunders said the thing he appreciated most about Rockwood Park was its affinity toward nature, and less toward developed features.
“I just find that when they fix up the park, they don’t maintain it enough,” said Saunders. “They have to put more maintenance into the park to just keep it as the basic thing.”
At 890 hectares, Rockwood Park is one of the largest urban parks in Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.