News

Emerging Ideas: Parks and Public Outdoor Space

7 February 2023

Summary

  • There are opportunities to improve public outdoor spaces within the Garibaldi Estates to meet the needs of residents.
  • There are opportunities to enhance amenities at Pat Goode Park.
  • There are options for exploring a new neighbourhood park in the southwest corner of the Garibaldi Estates.


Improving Public Outdoor Spaces and Pat Goode Park

During engagement activities for the Garibaldi Estates Neighbourhood Planning Process a number of themes were identified by participants related to parks.

Improvements to public parks and gathering spaces were identified as amenities residents would like to see in the Garibaldi Estates. Some of the improvements included:

  1. Public washrooms at parks and trailheads.
  2. Covered spaces that can be used year round.
  3. Elements that appeal to a range of ages, including structures geared to older kids such as a pump track, a dog park, a spray park and improved parking.
  4. Activated places for more mature residents
  5. Facilities and amenities spaces designed for teens.
  6. More communal outdoor space is needed, such as pocket parks.
  7. Additional benches and seating areas
  8. Public art

Participants expressed the importance of expanding access to parks and greenspaces within the neighbourhood, particularly if more people move into the Garibaldi Estates. In addition, participants felt that home builders working on projects in the neighbourhood should contribute to amenities and facilities.

Illuminated year-round public art


Emerging Idea: Encourage the development of a high quality public outdoor space throughout the Garibaldi Estates within parks, on District of Squamish owned land, along multi-modal paths, on sidewalks, and on or near trails and natural areas.

Consider the following features:

  • Pocket parks, parklets and corner plazas
  • Seating in a variety of locations including patios, transit stops, and sheltered/shaded areas
  • Bike shelters
  • Landscaping, planters and murals
  • Public washroom
  • All weather covered spaces
  • Mini parks in roundabouts
  • Public park spaces created through multi family developments
  • Public art (pedestrian infrastructure, lit gathering spaces, indigenous works)

Emerging Idea: Consider enhancements to Pat Goode Park by adding some of the following amenities:

  • A covered space that can be used year-round.
  • Additional benches and seating areas.
  • Elements that are intended for older kids such as a pump track or spray park.
  • Elements for mature residents such as a fitness circuit, chess tables or picnic areas.
  • Improved parking.

Establishing a new Neighbourhood Park

Establishing a new walkable neighbourhood park within or near to the southwest corner of the plan area reflects input from participants in the planning process and is aligned with the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (see background information below). Typically, a number of different strategies can be used to support the objective of establishing a new municipal park; which option is most appropriate depends on factors such as available land parcels, development opportunities and funding options. Some options that can be used by a municipality could include:

  • Acquisition of a portion of a property under consideration for development as part of a rezoning process.
  • Purchase of property funded in part by development cost charges.
  • Purchase of property funded in part by community amenity contributions.
  • Acquisition of land from the provincial government.
  • Utilization of existing municipal land.

If establishment of a neighbourhood park in the southwest corner of the plan area is supported by participants in the planning process, the next stage of the process would involve exploration of various options to secure land for a park, and consideration of an implementation process.

Background: Parks and Recreation Master Plan

The District of Squamish Parks and Recreation Master Plan (2012) considered access to parks within all Squamish neighbourhoods. The plan includes a Park Service Area Map which maps 5- minute or a 10-minute walking distance from existing parks.


Park Service Area Map: District of Squamish Official Community Plan

The Park Service Area Map indicates that the southwest portion of the Garibaldi Estates Neighbourhood is outside a 10-minute walk from a park. This, combined to additional supporting analysis of the available park space, supported a conclusion that the Garibaldi Estates is a neighbourhood with limited access to parks:

Garibaldi Estates is one of the neighbourhoods with the least amount of parkland. In particular, the southern edge has been identified as an area where residents are beyond a ten-minute walk to a park, although there is access to a large green space in the golf course and surrounding trails. In addition, some of the parks in Garibaldi Estates are located on the interior of a block of houses (“panhandled”), resulting in limited visibility for the community and potential safety/security issues, or they are undevelopable parks that are only suitable for trails (e.g. Coho Park).

The District of Squamish Parks and Recreation Master Plan includes the following recommendation for the Garibaldi Estates: Add a new “Neighbourhood Park”, if the opportunity arise.

Emerging Idea: Plan for the establishment of a Neighbourhood Park in the southwest corner of the Garibaldi Estates Neighbourhood.