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Festival lawn planned for Town Centre

Grass area next to plaza to replace BMX bike park
Festival lawn
The projected final look Coquitlam hopes to eventually create with its festival lawn project.

Undulating hills and paths spawning spectacular bike tricks in Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park will soon be levelled to make way for grass.

On Monday, city council approved the $1.4-million first phase of its festival lawn project which will see the existing BMX park replaced with grass. The site will be connected to the TD Community Plaza and is intended to provide increased open space for festivals and other events.

Festival lawn Phase 1
Festival lawn Phase 1 - City of Coquitlam report

Work on the first phase — which includes water lines, irrigation, drainage and laying down of sod — is expected to start in January and be completed by June in time for the summer event season, including the B.C. Highland Games on June 15.

A report to council said city staff has monitored the BMX site and determined it is sparsely used and no longer considered desirable for a “major destination park.” However, the city will consider off-road cycling recreation in its future parks master plan, and might include BMX as part of the Coquitlam River Park master plan to be done in 2020 or the next phase of the Coquitlam Crunch trail improvements that should be before council in early 2019. But Coun. Bonita Zarrillo isn’t sure that’s any of those are appropriate.

“I never saw that BMX site as a place for off-road cycling, I saw as it as a place for kids to learn to ride a bike,” said Zarrillo.

Coun. Trish Mandewo disagreed with the staff report saying the BMX site is heavily used by kids, including her daughter.

Festival lawn Phase 2
Festival lawn Phase 2 - City of Coquitlam report

The $1.3-million second phase includes a building containing washrooms, storage and a servery (small concession), as well as a festival plaza. The city plans to complete that phase in time for the 2019 Lights at Lafarge winter display. Council opted for conventional men’s and women’s washrooms along with two universal washrooms over one with five universal washrooms, which Zarrillo preferred. 

“Everybody gets equal, so I do like it,” she said. “It just gives more flexibility and equality for everyone,” she said

Staff said portable washrooms will still be needed for events. But Mandewo doesn’t believe that’s satisfactory.

“I’d rather stand in line for 20 minutes than use a portable,” said Mandewo.

Coun. Craig Hodge balked at the initial plans for the proposed building because he pledged better food services in the park in his election brochures.

“A servery isn’t going to have the space to do that,” said Hodge. “I would like to see us do something bigger than this.”

Parks general manager Raul Allueva said the city intends to expand food services in the future, but closer to the recreation zones in the park which are used on a regular basis. Allueva said the city is looking at bringing in food trucks for the big events.

Festival lawn Phase 3
Festival lawn Phase 3 - City of Coquitlam report

The total eventual expansion of the festival lawn will be about 2.5 acres with the first two phases covering about two acres of that. The lawn is to be eventually extended to Pipeline Road, which would require relocation of the tennis courts to the north. They would be replaced by picnic tables and other infrastructure to support social gatherings and informal recreation, but that’s not supposed to happen until 2023 to 2027.

Planning is also to begin in the new year for lakeside loop trail improvements, a washroom near the Evergreen Cultural Centre and a garden walk along the east side of Lafarge Lake.

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