A designer for the new community park and pump track in Bracebridge has been approved.
Landscape Planning Limited, based in Richmond Hill, Ont., has been chosen to design the park and pump track. They were the lowest of the two submitted bids with it estimated to cost the town $79,320 to work with the landscaping and architectural firm.
In a report to Bracebridge’s General Committee on Jan. 17, Gillian Mitchell, parks and trails foreperson for the town, and Scott Clayton, manager of operations, estimate the park and track development will cost the town just over $1.5 million by the time it’s finished. In Oct. 2022, council pushed back the start of construction to 2028 after originally saying it would start in 2023.
They point out they have already met with representatives from Landscape Planning Limited on-site. “This meeting provided the opportunity for the design consultant to be further introduced to the exiting land topography, as well as for staff to communicate the direction for the new parkland with the inclusion of space for a pump track, once developed,” they write.
The park and track will be located between Little Ryan’s Wy., Douglas Dr., and the Canadian National Rail Line on a 9.34-acre parcel of town-owned land. The park will include a parking lot with access to Douglas Dr., new benches, picnic tables, a bike rack, extra trash cans, a shade shelter, multiple portable washrooms, linkage to nearby trails, and fencing.
In Mitchell and Clayton’s report, they say the park design will “balance functional use for all ages and abilities, aesthetic benefits, community safety, accessibility, and operational considerations to ensure long-term sustainability.”
Mitchell and Clayton wrote in their report that it will cost around $15,000 annually to maintain the park and track.
It was approved by committee, and later council, to incorporate the cost of the park and track into the long-term capital plan, allowing the cost to be spread out over the course of multiple years rather than be paid all at once.
Clayton noted during Bracebridge’s Jan. 25 council meeting that while council is approving the conceptual design, location, and whether or not the cost will go into the town’s long-term capital plan, there will be more opportunities for the design to be reviewed and for changes to be made.
“We’re just approving the concept at this point,” added Stephen Rettie, chief administrative officer.
During both committee and council, the motion was unanimously passed.