A draft management plan for a new closed regional park reserve in northeast Coquitlam will be open for public comment this summer.
This week, the Metro Vancouver parks committee green-lighted the second round of consultations for Widgeon Marsh, an ecologically sensitive site — about one-and-half times the size of Stanley Park — north of Minnekhada Regional Park next to Pitt Lake.
Feedback on the draft plan for the 1,535 acres will involve an online questionnaire and stakeholder input this spring, followed by focus groups at Widgeon and Minnekhada parks and community outreach in July and August.
The draft plan calls for parking lots at the entrance, a paved trail from the lower landing to the meadow, hiking loops and signs, picnic tables and habitat restoration.
Currently, Widgeon Marsh regional park — which is part of the largest freshwater marsh in southwest B.C. — is not open to the public and entry is limited to Metro staff, tenants, neighbours and others (by special permit for research and filming).
If the draft plan moves forward, detailed designs will get underway next year with infrastructure work starting in 2021 for a 2023 park opening, said Steven Schaffrick, Metro’s parks division manager for the central area.
“It’s taken a bit of time to get to this point,” he told The Tri-City News, noting the land assemblies, and research on winter waterfowl and biophysical studies.
For the next consultation, Schaffrick said, “it’s really about refining and testing out our concepts to see if they’re in alignment with what we heard before.”
Metro staff also need to look at how Widgeon will link with Minnekhada regional park, B.C. Parks’ Pinecone Burke Provincial Park (of which a master planning process is now underway) and the city of Coquitlam’s sports park on Gilley’s Trail (which has yet to be built).
The Metro parks committee recommendation for the draft management plan will be considered by the board at its April 26 meeting.
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