On March 17th, Landscape Planning Ltd. presented concept designs for the downtown park and the development of the remaining parkland at the Cavan Monaghan Community Centre.
These plans are intended to serve as a guide to help the municipality prioritize future recreational investments which will occur as funding and resources become available. The proposals were established after consultation with the public, stakeholders, agencies, municipal staff and Council. Several design options were presented to the public at an Open House last November where feedback was gathered to further refine and prioritize recreational features for both locations. Paper and online surveys continued to collect feedback until early December. The two concept designs presented last month reflect this feedback. The report includes proposals for phases in the parks development along with implementation recommendations and rough cost estimates for the complete build out of these concepts. The intention is to use these designs as a tool to guide and prioritize future recreational investment in these two locations.
The downtown park concept plan reflects feedback seeking to strengthen the connection to the existing park with the main street, with a large plaza area in front of Needler’s Mill. Among the amenities is a large shade structure for community events, a public washroom, a playground and broad pathways to ensure the facility was accessible for pedestrian and maintenance traffic and parking for 18 vehicles.
The concept for the CMCC lands leaves green space behind the existing community centre which allows for potential building expansion in the future. It includes additional parking for130cars, pickleball, tennis, basketball and beach volleyball courts as well as a shade structure with seating.
The consultant’s work is now complete, but the plans are not. At the recommendation of Cavan Monaghan CAO Yvette Hurley, Council agreed to establish a task force to work with the design concepts to fine tune the specific recreational features they might include and prioritize their development to establish refined conceptual plans. Specific features of these projects and the timing of their development will occur as funding becomes available. The goal of the task forceis to establish a game plan that would be shovel-ready when the opportunity arises. To review the plans, visit www.cavanmonaghan.net .