Anniversary Park is located on West Chestermere Drive, across from the recreation centre. It is currently home to the skate park, and is the future site of the cenotaph.
The local parks committee and Town of Chestermere staff have been working toward a plan for redeveloping the park, however, before they move forward with any final concept plans, they are looking for public input as to how the park should be renovated.
On April 12, an open house will be held at town hall from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Staff hope that local residents will drop by and offer their feedback on the current unofficial concept plans and drawings, as well as offer up suggestions as what kind of changes they would like to see happen in Anniversary Park.
“Last year, the town acquired almost two acres of land from the Western Irrigation District, and those two acres go out into the lake,” said municipal planner Alan Boucher. “With that extra land, we want to take out the current retaining wall and expand the park and redevelop it.
“There’s talk of building a beach or a beachside promenade, both of which would turn out really nice and attract people to the lake.”
Boucher said that receiving public input about the project before it is finalized would help them to put together something that is in the best interest of everyone.
“We want people to come in and let us know what their priorities are so we can make a better final concept plan,” he said.
Boucher said that they are looking for feedback as to whether they should keep the skate park, or whether they should make room for something else, such as a spray park or other feature.
“The park has been in need of a makeover for a while,” he said. “Upgrading it will be a good way to increase recreation value for everyone in town.”
Boucher said that filling in the two acres into the lake is already a done deal with the WID, so once approvals come from Alberta Environment, they will be breaking ground on that part of the redevelopment. However, the design for the rest of the park is still up in the air.
Katie Schwing, planning intern for the town, said, “Anniversary Park is one of the few places where people have access to the lake, so developing it to it’s full potential would be a benefit for local residents.
“This is a really exciting project. We have an opportunity to make the park into something good and we need public input to make it something great.”
The open house for the park upgrade will be held at town hall on April 12, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Anyone who cannot attend the open house but would still like to offer feedback can e-mail Alan Boucher at aboucher@chestermere.ca.
