Port Coquitlam will build a nature park — not a people's park — around the Blakeburn lagoons, the city revealed this week at an information session for the residents in the north side neighbourhood.
And the new green space that's due to open at the end of next year will also include an area dedicated to honour women who have experienced — or have been lost to — violence.
The reflection garden comes as a result of a campaign by PoCo mom-of-four Jami Watson Roberts, who wants the municipality to construct an official memorial to the victims of PoCo serial killer Robert Pickton, who lived nearby.
Today (Thursday), Watson Roberts told The Tri-City News the reflective space — to be located on the east side of the east lagoon — doesn't go far enough as she wanted a site specifically for the Pickton dead or for all missing women across the country. "That was the whole reason for this: I want an act of recognition for them."
At 27 acres and located east of Blakeburn elementary school, the new Blakeburn Lagoons Park will see the two former waste settling ponds reshaped to include boardwalks, walking trails, a picnic area and a wildlife habitat island. Portions of the lagoon will be dredged to create onsite islands while contaminated soil will be covered up with new material, according to the city.
"Based on the feedback we received, Blakeburn Lagoons Park will be a natural oasis for the entire community to enjoy, and the elements of the park reflect that," Mayor Greg Moore said in a news release, adding, "Within that serene setting will be a designated space where people can reflect on important matters or decisions in their lives and honour those no longer with us, including those lost to violence. We want this reflective healing space to benefit as many people as possible."
Last year, a $1.9-million grant from the federal and provincial governments allowed the city to move forward with the $3-million rehabilitation project.
Some 130 people attended the city information session on Tuesday at Blakeburn elementary to review the nature park design. The alternate, a People's Park concept that saw more access to the water and more amenities, was rejected by the majority of attendees at a May open house.
• Visit portcoquitlam.ca/blakeburn for more information on the project or email capital projects manager Lee-Anne Truong at [email protected].
