Walking the dog through Mundy Park.
Learning about history at Mackin House Museum.
Riding the waves at the City Centre Aquatic Complex.
Coquitlam has a lot to offer through parks and recreation but it won't be enough as the city's population doubles over the next 15 years.
Across Coquitlam on Saturday afternoon, residents will talk to city staff and take surveys to guide the city's new parks, recreation and cultural vision - as well as try out some free activities (see sidebar) - at five civic centres:
Centennial Activity Centre (570 Poirier St.);
Glen Pine Pavilion (1200 Glen Pine Crt.);
Victoria Community Hall (3435 Victoria Dr.);
Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex (633 Poirier St.);
Town Centre Park Plaza.
Raul Allueva, Coquitlam's acting general manager of parks and rec, said Coquitlam hasn't revised its parks and recreation master plan for 16 years - and many needs and wants have changed since 1998.
According to the draft parks master plan that council adopted in June, Coquitlam is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada, with pressures felt especially in the City Centre and Burquitlam areas due to the coming of the Evergreen Line, as well as on Burke Mountain and in Austin Heights and Maillardville.
Each neighbourhood has different demographics and, thus, different priorities for parks and rec services. For example, Burquitlam has the city's highest number of renters and single-parent families while the largely undeveloped Burke Mountain is experiencing growing pains as it swells to 20,000 more residents over the next 15 years; it will require basic parks and recreation amenities such as a community centre with a pool, walking trails and a library.
Allueva said the city's biggest challenge is to keep up with the pace of growth and, as a result, "There are going to be some difficult decisions," he told council in June, noting "hundreds of millions of dollars" will have to be spent in the city's largest department.
Attendance at festivals and events are on the rise, he said. At this year's Canada Day celebrations, which cost the city $107,000, more than 30,000 people showed up at Town Centre Park to watch the entertainment and fireworks. The city is also gearing up for its 125th birthday celebrations and BC Seniors' Games in 2016.
As well, the city also has to tailor its new master parks plan to the rising multicultural population especially from China and India, Allueva said. In Coquitlam, 68% of the residents speak English at home compared with an average of 80% in many other Canadian municipalities.
Further, the city needs to look at changing demographics over the next 15 years as there are more seniors in B.C. than children under the age of 14 (currently in Coquitlam, more than half of households have kids living at home).
Coun. Craig Hodge, who chairs Coquitlam's Sports Council, said to pay for new parks and rec programs and services, the city has to find partnerships such as those School District 43, which already shares facilities with the city.
Coquitlam already has agreements in place with Planet Ice, the YMCA and the People's Court (tennis), to name a few, to enhance the city's rec programs. Senior government grants, development cost charges (for parkland acquisition) and the new Community Amenities Contribution Fund (from new development) are other funding tools for the city.
"We have to be cognizant of taxpayers' dollars," Hodge said.
Still, sports aren't the only focus of the city's new parks and rec master plan, the update for which has been budgeted at $150,000 - arts, culture and heritage are important, too. According to a recent study, between 1992 and 2010 in B.C., museum attendance rose by 17%, art gallery visits by 48% and artistic performances by 76%.
Allueva said the city will launch an arts and culture strategic plan - budgeted by council last December at $100,000 - in conjunction with the new parks master plan.
Coquitlam residents unable to go to the open house Saturday can give feedback by the Oct. 31 input deadline by visiting coquitlam.ca/prcmasterplan or emailing [email protected]. An additional open house will be held on Thursday, Sept. 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Victoria Community Hall.
Try out some free activities during the Master Parks Plan open houses tomorrow:
Centennial Activity Centre: badminton (3:30 to 5:30 p.m., ages seven and up; 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., ages 11 to 18);
Glen Pine Pavilion: painting group session (9 a.m. to noon); Total Fitness with Janice Domingo (9:15 to 10:15 a.m.); diabetes workshop (10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); line dancing demos (10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.); canasta (10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.); jamming session with Glen Pine's house band (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.); yoga (2:30 to 3:30 p.m.);
Victoria Community Hall: Children's games and hot dogs (1 to 3 p.m.)
Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex: Lean to skate (12:15 to 3:15 p.m.); free skate (12:15 to 3:15 p.m.);
Town Centre Park Plaza: Gardening (noon to 2 p.m.); winter planting displays (noon to 7 p.m.); bulb planting demos (3 to 5 p.m.); gardening Q&A (5 to 7 p.m.).
