More than 100 people attended an open house Wednesday on the future of John Phillips Memorial Park.
“This is a chance for the public to priortize the amenities in the park,” said parks and trails advisory committee chair John Boquist.
“There are many options for the park.”
John Phillips Memorial Park was created in 2005 and is the largest green space in Sooke’s urban core at 7.75 hectares.
Over the years there have been several proposals on how to develop the park from building a library, horseshoe pitches, even a bike skills facility.
The committee has come with key philosophies and key priorities for the park.
Now the public’s thoughts on the park are sought.
Each participant at the open house were asked for their ideas, but also to identify projects they would like to see in the park.
The committee has considered the park area in three zones: wildlife zone, passive recreation zone and community activities zone, and is following a philosophy of preserving the natural areas while making the best use of the park’s greatest feature – the pond.
“There’s a whole list of things we’d like to see done, and we were encouraged by [district council] to rate the urgency,” Boquist said.
“It’s challenging to get these amenities into the park because of the way it’s laid out: there’s a flood plan, there’s a pond.”
The committee has also set up an online survey on the District of Sooke website to further engage the public. The survey is open until the end of February.
All comments and other information will be tabulated and go before the committee for its March 1 meeting.
The committee will then prioritize the results and make a recommendation to council. Council will consider the recommendations at its March 14 meeting.