A map of existing parks, trails and facilities can be downloaded from the Town of Osoyoos website. The town and its consultants, Stantec, are seeking input from the public about the kinds of parks and trails they want in the community over the next 20 years. A survey is available online or on paper, but the deadline to respond is this Sunday, Nov. 1. (Town of Osoyoos)
The deadline is approaching for the public to comment on a new plan for parks and trails in Osoyoos.
An online survey is gathering comments from the public on the types of parks, trails and amenities that local residents and visitors want to see in the community.
The survey closes this Sunday, Nov. 1.
Those who don’t have access to the internet or prefer to complete a paper copy may pick up a survey at the front desk of the town’s Planning and Development Services office at 8711 Main Street.
The survey is part of a public consultation for the preparation of a 20-year Parks and Trails Master Plan.
It will be incorporated into the town’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and will serve as a guide for future investments, acquisitions and developments in an integrated system of parks and trails.
In addition to the survey, the town held a workshop on Oct. 14 that was facilitated by the consultant, Stantec, and included council, town staff, and representatives from the parks and recreation commission, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and various community stakeholders, said Alain Cunningham, town director of planning and development services.
Cunningham said the information gathered would be used to prepare a preliminary master plan, which will be presented at another workshop and issued to the public for comment.
The target date for the draft master plan is January 2016 with the final plan and council presentation in February.
Cunningham said the online survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. It asks about the types of trails and parks that people want and about how people use existing ones.
Although a community services master plan completed last year touches on parks and trails in broader terms, there is no current Parks and Trails Master Plan, Cunningham said.
Existing trails were acquired individually as the opportunity and needs arose, but they weren’t developed according to an overall comprehensive and integrated plan, he said.
Among the things the town is looking at are how trails should be surfaced, whether they should have furniture such as benches and what kind of signage is needed, he said.
“There seems to be a lot of interest in the group that met that the trails should be identified in terms of their length and severity so that anybody starting off knows what they could get into,” said Cunningham. “The other important thing that we want is to have a totally integrated plan. We want to capitalize on the investments that are being made through the regional district into the Kettle Valley Railway Trail so we want to make sure that we’re fully connected to that.”
Current plans for the KVR Trail in the RDOS would only extend it south to Willow Beach, leaving no connection with trails in the Town of Osoyoos.
Cunningham said he doesn’t know exactly what kind of response has been received to the survey so far, but he’s heard from the consultants that it’s been slow.
“That’s why we’re urging everybody to respond,” he said. “It’s to their benefit, because we’re going to be using the results to gauge what people’s preference are for different types of assets.”
Cunningham noted that the town sees the park and trail system as an important economic driver for the community, which will contribute to the town’s growth and development, serving both community residents and visitors.
The plan, he said, will differ from area to area, but in some areas it may propose specific alignments for trails as well as cross-sections.
There could be a hierarchy of trails with more important ones paved and others with a gravel surface.
The town will also be able to phase development, with a set of priorities for improvements and new developments that will assist in future planning and budgeting.
One of the questions on the survey asks people if they want to see a new waterfront park. Cunningham said there is no specific proposal for one, but the survey is simply assessing if there is support for one.
The town is also looking at the opportunity for trail connections going west from Osoyoos onto Kruger Mountain to what would be the boundaries of the proposed national park.
“We see incredible opportunities to link the town to the national park, which it looks more and more like it may be a prospect in a few years’ time,” he said. “The other interesting thing is that we’re looking at joining trails in outlying areas with the sidewalks where you go from sidewalks in town and continue on your way through trails in more rural areas, making that sort of rural-urban connection.”
Information on the master plan and a link to the survey can be found at http://www.osoyoos.ca/content/parks-and-trails-master-plan.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
