A new park is in development in Whitby.
In the winter of 2020, the Town of Whitby started the detailed design for Whitby’s newest local park located on the south side of Micklefield Avenue, east of Lockton Street in the newly built Heathwood Development.
The proposed Local Park will help serve a diversity of ages and abilities of the growing community for years to come. The park will be tendered summer 2021 and the final design may be adjusted to meet the allocated budget. Park construction is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2021 and be completed in time for early summer 2022.
Park features and amenities included in the proposed design include:
- a soccer field;
- a playground with engineered wood fibre surfacing;
- a sand play area;
- a splash pad;
- a shade shelter;
- a walking trail with bench rest areas, and;
- native naturalized plantings to support pollinator species.
Through the park design process, a given park sites opportunities and constrains are carefully examined. Ultimately a well planned, best fit, configuration of the proposed features and amenities is determined.
Some of the factors considered include:
- safety and security incorporating the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED);
- views into and out of the site; both positive and negative;
- the site topography;
- environment/ecology;
- adjacent land uses; both incompatible or favourable;
- vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns;
- universal accessibility, and;
- microclimate (solar and wind exposure).
The Town has four different Park classifications including Town, District, Local and Parkette; all of which serve a different function and contain different park elements and amenities.
A Town Park has major facilities and contains community centres, arenas, swimming pools and lighted athletic fields and is intended to serve the recreational needs of the whole community.
A District Park is designed to serve the recreational needs of a larger neighbourhood or series of neighbourhoods. They are for primarily active recreational uses including lighted athletic fields, playgrounds, courts and parking areas. Various sport user groups rely on District Parks to undertake the various sports programming for youth minor sports across the community.
Local Parks such as Micklefield Park and smaller Parkettes are intended to serve the recreational needs of the immediate neighbourhood for active and passive recreational uses. Local Parks contain sports fields, playgrounds, courts, walkways and in some cases splash pads. Smaller Parkettes normally contain playgrounds, seating areas and walkways.
The Town’s Official Plan(External link) and several Council approved guiding documents help direct the development of our parks. These include the Culture, Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan(External link) (CPROS) and the Sports Facility Strategy(External link) (SFS). Both of these studies account for trends, demographics, current inventory and service levels.
Have additional questions about this project? Email Andrei Micu, Landscape Architect Technician at micua@whitby.ca.
Between May 3 and May 23, future park-goers are invited to view the proposed conceptual park design for Micklefield Park and complete a survey to share feedback on the playground design.
https://connectwhitby.ca/micklefieldpark/survey_tools
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