Oak Bay residents filtered through the Monterey Centre Jan. 22 to give input into the new draft plan for Carnarvon Park.
City staff, the mayor, councillors and the consultants hired to work on the plan were in attendance.
“Until they finalize it and bring it back, I don’t have any strong opinions about it. I’m still listening to what people are saying here,” Mayor Kevin Murdoch said. “I think there’s been lots of opportunity for feedback. But that doesn’t mean everybody’s happy. At the end of the day the part of the park that is being considered for rejigging is a relatively small area that we’re trying to adjust.”
Copies of the draft master plan were blown up as posters, allowing residents the opportunity to walk through the slides and ask questions. Feedback forms were collected, and an online survey is also underway.
READ MORE: New Carnarvon Park field-house could cost $4.3M
Public feedback has already led to changes in what’s being proposed. Initially, it appeared as though tennis was going to be left out of the new park in exchange for expanded dedicated pickleball space, featuring six courts. The current draft plan brings back one tennis court, leaving pickleball with four dedicated courts.
Two blank comment boards allowed visitors to provide feedback. Opinions about racket sports dominated the space, with each camp seeing equal amounts of feedback.
The plan’s two proposed choices for a new fieldhouse – one option with two small single story structures estimated to cost $1.8 million dollars, or a larger two story structure pegged at $4.3 million dollars. Those who spoke to Oak Bay News seemed in favour of the larger complex, although concerns were raised about the discrepancy in cost between the two options. Part of the presentation included an open voting board for residents to pick between the two options. Feedback there appeared split between the two choices.
READ MORE: Oak Bay residents to have a say on Carnarvon Park’s redevelopment
Another final draft will be made available in the coming months and posted on the municipal website. Parks Manager Chris Hyde-Lay said that this event was likely the last public forum. The final draft is expected to make its way into council sometime in the late spring or early summer for approval. No final budget has been released yet.
Residents wishing to provide their feedback online can do so here.
The online survey is open to Jan. 29 at 4 p.m.
The Oak Bay News spoke to residents on both sides of the Tennis-Pickleball debate. Stay tuned on Facebook, Twitter and here for further coverage.
jesse.laufer@oakbaynews.com
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