Davies park plan unveiled

A park that has been in the works for at least 14 years — the Davies Street Park — came one step closer to realization.

The illustrative concept plan for the park was presented last Tuesday at the Best Western.

City Manager Kevin Cormack, along with Robert Fershau of Nowell2 Land Design, presented the conceptual plan to council and the public.

“This is an exciting step forward,” said Mayor John Dooley.

“These lands have been targeted for a park for many years and I am confident that we will be able to move forward to realizing this goal in 2009.”

The park’s plan was composed by using a park planning committee, and in the end all members came up with the same basic idea.

“We mixed the committee with residents in the area, some youth and a man from the Eagles,” said Cormack.

“We wanted to have a broad committee that had some representation from different perspectives.”

The new park will have two bathrooms, a natural area, advanced bike trails and a beginner bike skills park.

The hard court multi sports area will be brought back to date for sports like basketball, street hockey and skateboarding. There will also be a footbridge connector trail, adventure playground (which instead of using plastic will use concrete cylinders and stumps), toddler playground, community garden and a tree zoo.

More trees and benches will also be put in along the main path to slow down bike traffic on the steep incline.

“The involvement of the committee allowed us to understand the needs of the community as well as the needs of the city,” said Fershau.

“Through this collaborative process we were able to develop a concept plan that accomplished the committee’s goals while preserving and enhancing the unique features of the site.”

The park will be the third largest park in Nelson behind Lakeside Park and Gyro Park.
The Lakeside Park will be 4.8 hectares and will cost about $600,000 to complete.

The planners hope the park will be accessed by everyone of all ages during all four seasons and that it will become the major trailhead to the Nelson-Salmo Great Northern Trail.

“When completed, Davies Street Park will transform a former gravel pit into another first-class amenity in the city that compliments and improves on an expanding network of green spaces,” said Fershau.

By Darryl Pollock - Nelson Star Published: January 14, 2009 6:00 PM