Project History & What We Heard

The development of a park master plan for Kings Mill Walk park to renew and improve the park in response to the changes coming to the Harbourside neighbourhood and to meet our community’s needs has been a work in progress for many years.

2015 Community Consultation

In 2015, the Kings Mill Walk Master Plan process began with data gathering, site analysis and a preliminary public engagement process. The open house and stakeholder workshop were both held in the Spring of 2015.

These events were a valuable first step in the master plan process. It was an opportunity to introduce the project to the community and receive feedback on potential ideas for change. Many participants shared ideas to improve the shoreline, the need for public washrooms and covered gathering areas. We also heard that people valued the off-leash area and the views.

The feedback we received led to the shoreline improvement work with the Port of Vancouver. The preliminary findings from 2015 have also been revisited by our task force in our renewed process to create a draft concept plan.

2015 Until 2020 Community Consultation

Following the initial workshops with the public and stakeholders in 2015, we started to work with the Port of Vancouver to adapt and protect the shoreline from sea level rise and storm surges. The Port has authority over the active port area and the shoreline south of the park.

Over several years the City and Port developed a plan with a series of rocky headlands and cobble beaches to improve the aquatic and intertidal habitat in an effort to enhance the oceanfront between Mackay and Mosquito Creek. Now that the improvements to the shoreline are understood, the design of the park can continue.

2020-2021 Community Consultation

The goals of the 2020-2021 phase of this project were to:

• Inform stakeholders and the public of the park master plan project and timeline
• Understand the needs and ideas of the public, task force and stakeholders
• Define a draft vision statement, guiding principles for the park master plan
• Create a draft concept plan for review and feedback from the public and stakeholders

Community Engagement

In the summer of 2020, the City launched the Kings Mill Walk Master Plan Let’s Talk project page to residents. We asked you to contribute your vision for the park and share ideas for park improvements. We received many suggestions and comments to help us to restart this project. We heard interest in:

• creating or improving natural habitat
• separating bikes from pedestrians in the park
• retaining a dog off-leash area
• creating space for gathering with seating and covered spaces
• accessing the water, beach and swimming opportunities

Kings Mill Walk Master Plan Community Task Force

In the Fall of 2020, City Council appointed a Kings Mill Walk Task Force to contribute to the development of the park master plan. The task force is made up of City residents from a variety of ages from four years to seniors with a variety of perspectives and experiences to share.

The first step for the task force was to review the feedback received to date and project history. Together with a design team and City staff, the task force explored the existing park conditions and how the community currently uses the park. The task force learned about:

1. How the surrounding community is changing and how the park will need to change in response to the future development of the adjacent properties on Harbourside Drive.
2. The work that was done with the Port to make changes to the current shoreline to address sea level rise and reduce the risk of flooding.
   
   

The opportunities and constraints of the City’s application to the Port were considered by the task force such as to the opportunity to improve the shoreline habitat and the Port’s requirements to restrict public access to the water along the south edge of park. The Port’s jurisdiction over the water and efforts to improve the shoreline habitat has implications for the park master plan. Although we heard the interest from the community to provide more connection to the water at Kings Mill Walk, activities such as public swimming or dog access to the beaches cannot be integrated into the final design due to the requirements of the Port.

The next step for the task force was to help develop a draft vision and guiding design principles for the new Kings Mill Walk. These are important statements for the design process and they help to establish the overall framework for the Master Plan. Through a series of workshops, the task force, City Staff and design consultants considered:

• the park’s future character, new activities, potential habitat enhancements
• the need to separate bikes and pedestrians
• changes to the off-leash area

The draft vision and guiding principles were shared with a variety of stakeholders including local businesses in the Harbourside area, Bodwell School, Burrard Yacht Club and representatives of the Squamish Nation.

The draft guiding principles, vision statement, stakeholder feedback, City staff review and the Port approved shoreline plan has all been combined together in the Draft Kings Mill Walk concept plan that we are now presenting to the community for feedback.