Park plan ‘a little bit of everything’

Residents can give feedback on design for Fairview Park

The former St. Catharines golf and mini putt lands in the city’s north end are one step closer to getting the makeover of a lifetime.

The draft master plan for Fairview Park and adjacent John Page Park is up for public review and is packed with more than a dozen features that include a skateboard park, multi-use courts, a splash pad and public washrooms.

The design, in the final consultation phase before going to city council for approval, includes community gardens, an observation deck, historic elements, tennis courts, additional trees, a themed children’s playground, parking and more.

“There’s a little bit of everything with this park and I think that’s really neat and what’s really exciting for both residents, our team and everybody who’s involved. You don’t see this very often,” said Eric Lamothe, the city’s manager of community initiatives and partnerships.

The 2.7-hectare parcel nestled between Fairview Mall and Scott Street has the historic third Welland Canal buried beneath it and contains concrete remnants of a canal swing bridge.

“I think what’s really unique about this park is that heritage aspect. You don’t often have a green space like this that was so heavily involved with the historic Welland Canal,” Lamothe said.

“I think it’s a really neat opportunity for us to kind of blend the green space, the tree-planting initiatives, the historic and the passive recreation.”

The heritage of the site is being included in the design with old canal bollards used to tie off ships incorporated as a park entrance feature. An observation deck is proposed on the site of the swing bridge remnants and native trees would be planted where the ships travelled.

“The idea would be if you’re up on the observation deck, you’d be able to look down throughout the park and actually look at the path that was travelled by ships previously,”