Our local parks and trails system is one of Richmond's crown jewels. We have more than 90 parks covering more than 1,400 acres, complemented by another 200 acres of trails interlacing our community.
As Richmond grows, our parks and trails need to evolve to meet community needs. This year, we will be undertaking a number of exciting initiatives that will make our parks system even more spectacular.
Just last month, I was excited to attend the announcement that the city, together with Ducks Unlimited Canada, had acquired 51 hectares of valuable tidal wetlands along Sturgeon Banks. These lands represent internationally-important habitat for waterfowl, fish and other wildlife.
The land will become a new public park to complement the conservation purposes for which it was purchased. This new "natural" park will provide education and passive recreation opportunities, such as a boardwalk over the wetland. It will provide new opportunities for people to safely and unobtrusively venture into the foreshore to better enjoy and understand the critical ecosystem it supports.
The Grauer Lands purchase is a perfect complement to the adjoining Terra Nova Natural Area and Terra Nova Rural Park. The city's sensitive and innovative development of the Terra Nova Rural Park has won numerous awards.
The phased development of Terra Nova Park continues this year with construction of a new children's play area. The plan is for a play area that is creative and exciting, yet a practical learning experience that complements the natural and agricultural heritage of the park. City staff have worked with the public and neighbourhood children to help develop concepts for the play area.
A little further west along the Middle Arm, we are continuing to fulfill the vision for a new city waterfront park. This park will link the No. 2 Road Bridge, the Aspac Developments site (River Green) and the Richmond Olympic Oval to the Middle Arm. New construction to begin this year will include public art, interpretive elements, water features and passive seating areas. Construction will continue in to 2013.
This latest phase will integrate with extensive upgrades that were completed along the Middle Arm dike prior to the Olympic Games. If you haven't cycled, run, played or strolled there recently, you're missing out. Improvements include a universally accessible playground, an amphitheatre, pier and public art.
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear these days is, "What's happening along Railway?"
In 2010, the city successfully purchased a 3.7 kilometre section of the former CPR rail corridor between Granville Avenue and Garry Street. For many years, the Railway Corridor has been identified as an opportunity to develop a major northsouth greenway that links the existing dike trails along the South Arm and Middle Arm of the Fraser River.
We're now preparing to determine how to best make this a reality.
Last fall, our city crews removed the invasive vegetation on the rail bed that resulted from CPR no longer maintaining the corridor.
A design for the corridor will be underway this spring, with public open houses anticipated in May 2012. Some of the key principles will be referencing the coriridor's major historic and present day transportation role, as part of the old InterUrban rail route; promoting and reinforcing the connections to the many neighbourhoods it crosses through; introducing nature, creating distinct points of interest; and respecting its strong linear character and view corridors.
I encoruage all of you to take part in this important planning process.
