Area "D" Parks Plan

Park elements and features are the foundation of developing a solid structure for an engaging new park to visit. They determine how the space will be used for generations to come.

Based on what we heard from Stage 1 engagement, here is a display of park elements and features that will shape the future of Area D Park Plans. Your input is invaluable to help evolving the conversation with hoe the park will be experienced.

This is an opportunity to help develop an identity for the park, please take some time to digest the images provided and select on which of the elements you prefer from each category.

The town of Okanagan Falls has a roughly 650m wide frontage along Skaha Lake. This frontage is currently made up of three individual public parks, a public boat launch and a current residential property owned by the RDOS. The parks are not contiguous and are intersected by three private developments fronting the lake. The overall waterfront concept plan seeks to better stitch together the individual parks and create a more cohesive and seamless waterfront park realm and experience for its users. This is achieved through a series of moves outlined below.

 Through the introduction of a continuous, clearly legible, wider, smoothly transitioning, and consistent material pathway along and connecting the three major parks (Lions, Kenyon and Christie), the park spaces will flow unincumbered from one park to the next. The pathway will have a feature surfacing repeated along the entire waterfront and through the individual parks. 

 Feature light fixtures in proportion with the scale of the waterfront parks stretched as pearls along the main pathway, will further strengthen the connective feeling along the pathway and the parks. 

 Additional proposed shade trees will as well bridge and connect the parks spaces.

 A proposed central drop off area at the elbow intersection of 7 Avenue and Cedar Street will act as a connecting pivot point between Kenyon and Christie Parks. This pivot point provides a functional drop off as well as a focal point arrival plaza for the waterfront parks and beach area. This focal area for the parks will host a new common pavilion with change rooms, bathrooms, potential concession space and other beach facilities such as foot showers. 

Additionally, this location will house culturally relevant elements such as the Salmon Chief sculpture in a more prominent and visible location. Angled parking along the street frontage of the parks provides more efficient and clear parking opportunities for the public visiting the parks and the waterfront.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/Ee4uSVXYOF5HtOGzfQpFyHYBR5ReVlfsdMlhxwjSxEhM_A?e=lnkJpR for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan.

The pastoral, naturalistic and quiet contemplative character of this waterfront park is further strengthened and enhanced by the physical space arrangement and amenities proposed. Additional seating and viewing areas in the park, both inward looking along the interior pond and outward facing over Skaha Lake, are proposed. The overlooks provide areas for tranquil seating, as well as photo-opportunities for events such as weddings, birthday parties and other family and social events.

 A clearly legible, unobstructed, and universally accessible pathway circles around the interior pond of the park providing a pleasant walking look as well as leading to secondary access pathways around the park. A strong, wide, and unobstructed link to the adjacent waterfront parks (Kenyon Park and Christie Memorial Park) is proposed across the current RV Park and future development site with a 2m wide pathway.

 From a maintenance perspective the overall areas of turf are reduced and given back to native, drought tolerant vegetation to celebrate the local flora and support the local fauna, as well as provide opportunities for nature interpretation and observation.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/Ee107o04iHFJjrFCF0CBY4YB4ryN_7RvGTej8AIPMxjVMQ?e=BSBDi7 for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

The park has a largely family- and activities-oriented nature which the proposed design strengthens and expands on. A wider and smoother-coursing waterfront pathway will enhance the connection to the beach and the adjacent Christie Park, facilitating a wider beach-area feel across the waterfront.

 The lawn and shade trees interface along the beach are expanded with the proposed move of the playground area a bit farther south into the park and away from the waterfront. This increases the available space for seating and lounging along the beach front and for having views of the waterfront. Additional picnic pads with BBQ or fire pits are provided as well in this expanded beach frontage area.

 The new playground location south of the spray park creates a more focused kids activity area and an opportunity to provide a contemporary play area with upgraded safety measures which can easily be used by the non-beach going public and a potential adjacent future daycare center. 

 South of the park, open lawn areas are kept for spontaneous uses and organized events such as farmers markets, fairs, and yearly sports races.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EefF1FwyiRRCsgT-agxqoAUBXYrwBDTwG8xd6-ak3sPjKQ?e=kpnCWi for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

The park has large expanses of lawn turf and BBQ areas, supporting family gatherings and other social activities. The park also has the most extensive beachfront of the three waterfront parks on Skaha Lake, providing both beachgoers and water sports enthusiast, ample opportunity to interact with the water and to engage in water-based recreational and sports activities.

A large zone of protected Alkali aster planting bisects the beach area from the waterfront. To facilitate access to the water across the length of the beach, two steel grate access pathways suspended over the aster zone are proposed. These access paths can also aid in the viewing and interpretation of the aster planting zone.

The enhanced main pathway stretching the length of the park creates a pleasant boulevard along the beach that connects to nearby Kenyon Park and through to Lions Park through its contiguous treatment.
 Additional shade trees at the interface with and crossing into Kenyon Park additionally support a more cohesive waterfront park experience.

At the intersection with Kenyon Park, the pivot point as described for the overall waterfront park plan provides a functional drop off as well as a focal point arrival plaza for the waterfront parks and beach area.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/ESSVj6kLo-ZOuM_vJ8X_2uEB3badwhnkxd-PcAkDDI4V4g?e=rOiIcZ for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

The limited footprint of the park space associated with the Centre requires a drastic reversal of the proposed programming. The location of the park closer to the center of town, and adjacent to the school, makes it the best candidate to provide a youth-oriented facility.

The park can house a new contemporary skate park near the school, with good street visibility, as opposed to the current outdated, and underused skate park at Keogan Park. The current tennis and pickleball courts are proposed to be moved to Keogan Park where additional courts can be more comfortably fit, in closer proximity to additional amenities for adult use.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EbeOmids1O9LhyuV-cJLM5cB5Y2x1VHyZ6SKo6t-94zTVw?e=DcPdrk for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

The concept for the park seeks to enhance the cultural and social activities potential of the park. Capitalizing on the existing band shell, a distinct grassy viewing area for spectators to sit and gather on picnic blankets is defined. A granular surface pathway and a row of shade trees defines the space while providing circulation around the area and a small walking loop in the park.

A second open grass area also defined by a pathway, provides an area for spontaneous field games, as well as organized civic events such as fairs. The second pathway connects with the bandshell viewing area pathway and provides a figure-eight loop through the park.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EbeOmids1O9LhyuV-cJLM5cB5Y2x1VHyZ6SKo6t-94zTVw?e=DcPdrk for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

Amenities in the park are expanded in the current vast and mostly undefined park to better serve the community.

Court amenities geared towards the adult population are located in the park where a large number of courts can be provided for tennis and pickleball rather than at the current Zen Centre location. The courts are located in the south-east corner of the park where they should not pose a nuisance to the adjacent residents.

A contiguous walking and jogging loop surround the inner and outer perimeter of the park to allow for a universally accessible amenity. This loop and its connecting pathways also provide easy access to the court facilities along the eastern perimeter of the park.

The cricket pitch is moved slightly south from its current location to achieve an unobstructed regulation-size field radius of 60m to allow for local and regional games and meets.

Permanent bathrooms and change rooms are provided to support the uses of the park.

A disc golf course is contemplated in the upper north triangle of the park and could expand south into the park between the cricket pitch and the walking loop.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/ETrhFUqjmBhBhB2iawmh9wsBgSY0Lj1OJUvF0zhDB9L8MQ?e=mtiCuq for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

The park was recently installed through the combined efforts of the Community Association and the RDOS and is largely complete. Original plans for the north entrance of the park along Vintage Boulevard are part of the final vision for the park. Through feedback from the community and interested and affected parties, some additional features and amenities are proposed to optimize the user experience of the park.

The park offers spectacular views westward towards Skaha Lake which can be enjoyed from additional proposed picnic platforms shaded by proposed trees along the upper western slope of the park. Strategically located trees to shade the current playground are proposed to provide relief from the intense summer sun. Some additional pockets of native planting are proposed to flank the elongated grass field to provide more shade, decrease the amount of turf, as well as increase the ecological value of the park.

Additional signage and a community bulletin board are also proposed to better serve the directly adjacent community as well as park users from more distant Area D communities.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EZ604Kozr0hDlRi-QoqetIMBw7OfjWNhyWET_7mO0zWS-w?e=PCbCPp for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EZNYa92xLgFJhRnQl5KIm7gBtec0rc307vdhklEAtCr8_w?e=nnTrTC for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan. 

Cemeteries are places for reflection and the celebration of lives past: comfortable and attractive natural park settings can play an important role in supporting these processes. The design incorporates additional functional requirements expected in a contemporary cemetery. The addition of columbarium areas will support the need for the interment of ashes. Scattering gardens provide an alternative to the interment of ashes. A formal tree-lined entryway leads to a meandering pathway, leading to the facilities of the cemetery, in a figure-eight form resembling the infinity symbol. An overlook area overviewing the valley below provides a quiet, scenic place for reflection in this hallowed garden.

Feel free to go to https://ecora-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/po_ho_ecora_ca/EZFvGOmQCstLkLjOUmZrg5kBNaShuTMhOt1zvOxX3Zz8IQ?e=KYw6mS for downloading or a closer look to the concept plan.