Pete Chapman doesn’t think city council will do half the things that consultants are recommending to upgrade Canatara Park.
“A lot of this is very expensive and council has a lot of other places where money is needed,” he said Tuesday afternoon as he examined the proposed details for a new Canatara Park master plan.
Chapman was one of 65 or so local residents who packed a public meeting hosted by the landscape architectural firm hired to come up with a roadmap for the future of one of Sarnia’s most loved parks.
A second public meeting was held Tuesday evening with local residents to get more input on the plan, which will help form city council’s decisions about park development for at least the next decade.
The process began in April and has already included two well-attended workshops, 31 one-on-one interviews with local citizens, consultation with city staff and politicians, as well as an online survey that had an astounding 2,478 responses.
“We’ve done a lot of surveys and I’ve never come anywhere close to 2,478 responses,” said landscape architect Donna Hinde of The Planning Partnership based in Toronto.
That kind of engagement and the strong attendance at Tuesday’s public meetings reflect how valued the 174-acre (70.4 hectares) park is, Hinde said.
“You have a phenomenal asset. That’s why we have a packed room,” she told the crowd. “You are very, very lucky to have this in your community.”
According to the consultants, Canatara’s most impressive features include:
• 5 rare ecosystems;
• one of only 20 beaches in Canada with Blue Flag status;
• home to over 200 endangered plant and animal species; and
• “extremely rare” beach dunes and other significant natural features.
Another online survey and more public consultation is still to come before a final master plan is presented to council this fall, but Hinde told Tuesday afternoon’s crowd that protection of Canatara’s deteriorating sand dunes will definitely be part of the final document.
The preferred concept reduces the size of the parking lot near the beach in order to better protect the dunes, she said.
The goal is to expand the dune area at the beach from about six hectares to seven hectares, said The Planning Partnership’s David Leinster.
Overall parking in Canatara will be reduced from the existing 961 spots to 778 spots.
Several members of the audience spoke out about losing the ability to park at the beach and look out over Lake Huron.
“It’s something many of us like to do and we’ve done it for years,” said one woman. “We’ve always done it and I don’t see why that should be taken away.”
“We know this park is loved,” Leinster responded. “We just don’t want the park to be loved to death.”
Change is difficult, he added. But it’s necessary to find a balance in using the park and preserving its unique ecology.
“We won’t recommend parking (overlooking the beach),” said Hinde. “We will recommend the dunes are protected.
“Our job is about balancing differences of opinion.”
She pointed out that survey respondents showed support is highest for ensuring Canatara Park has a healthy ecosystem.
Leinster also commented on the number of cars parked on the grass underneath the oak savannah canopy this past Canada Day.
Parking under the trees compacts the ground and stresses the trees, he said.
“These trees will be lost forever if this continues.”
Parking in Canatara is always a concern, said Dave Satram, a member of the Seaway Kiwanis Club that has operated the Children’s Animal Farm in the park for more than 60 years.
Satram was there with several club members and said they were relieved to see the consultants listened to them and decided not to recommend moving the farm.
“(The landscape architects) are listening,” Satram said. “That’s what you want.”
But he said he still has concerns about reducing parking because it’s always an issue when the club hosts special events like Easter in the Park or Christmas on the Farm.
“When Maud Hanna gave this land to the city (in the 1930s), she wanted it to be a park that people use and enjoy, so accessibility is very important,” Satram said.
Representatives of The Planning Partnership will be at city council on Monday (July 8) to present the working draft for Canatara’s master plan now that they are about 60% through the process. The consultants call it “the emerging preferred concept.”
Among the recommendations are:
• improved cycling and walking trails;
• a cluster of food trucks and cafes near the beach area;
• a new covered stage/pavilion;
• expansion of existing playgrounds;
• new park entrance, parking, native educational gardens and viewing tower in the “meadow zone” immediately south of the park where a former dump is buried;
• new lookout spots along Lake Chipican and a floating board walkway;
• kayak and canoe launch, beach volleyball courts and new boardwalk on the beach.
Council’s meeting begins at 1 p.m. and will be held virtually, not in person. Web-stream available through www.virtualsarnia.ca.