Centennial Park Enhancement Project
Manotick Centennial Skate Park Update
The City of Ottawa and Manotick Culture, Parks and Recreation Association hosted a virtual Public Meeting on Wednesday April 13, 2022, 7 p.m. The purpose of the meeting was to view the proposed preliminary design for the ‘gateway’ area of Centennial Park in Manotick, including an updated skate park, all-wheels track, donor and commemorative signage and landscaping.
The Landscape Architects, Bill Gurney from Newline Skateparks and Sarah Marsh from Fotenn Design + Planning, presented the proposed design.
View Preliminary Design in Meeting Slideshow
April 13, 2022 Virtual Public Meeting:
What is it?
An initiative led by Manotick Culture, Parks and Recreation Association (MCPRA) to enhance the northeast corner of Centennial Park, including the skateboard, outdoor rink/basketball, and gateway areas. This is close to a $1M project.
Where is it?
Centennial Park (5572 Dr. Leach Drive) is Manotick’s primary active recreational park and community gathering place. This 7 hectare (17+ acres) backdrop to the Mike O’Neil Arena and Manotick Community Centre currently includes facilities for tennis, pickleball, soccer, football, softball, outdoor skating, skateboarding, sledding (Manotick Mountain), along with a play structure and outdoor pavilion.
Who is Involved?
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Representatives from the following groups sit on the Centennial Park Working Group, chaired by MCPRA:
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Kiwanis Club of Manotick
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Ottawa South Basketball Association
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Youth of Manotick Association (YOMA)
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Ottawa Skateboard Association
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Manotick Village and Community Association (MVCA)
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City of Ottawa, Parks and Facility Planning Services
After an extensive community consultation, a Concept Design for Centennial Park was completed in early 2019. Everyone agreed that Centennial Park was a ‘jewel’ to be protected and enhanced. Residents valued the Park’s complement of facilities/ recreational opportunities, village access, centrality, meeting spaces and park aesthetics (i.e. pathways, trees and gardens).
There was also consensus that the priority project for Centennial Park would be the enhancement of the ‘entrance’, including the skateboard, outdoor rink/basketball, and gateway areas.
Just Announced!
On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, Infrastructure Canada announced the awarding of an Infrastructure Canada grant to Manotick Culture Parks and Recreation Association for the Centennial Park Enhancement Project. The Government of Canada, with the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa, are investing in Centennial Park, amongst other City projects, through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan.
This $1M Centennial Park project is being funded by: Infrastructure Canada (federal and provincial funding), the Tomlinson Foundation, the City of Ottawa, private donations in memory of David Arntfield. and community fundraising. It’s the collective effort of all partners that makes this exciting community park project feasible.
What Has Been Done to Date?
After an extensive community consultation, a Concept Design for Centennial Park was completed in early 2019. Most agreed that the priority project for the Park would be the enhancement of the ‘entrance’, including the skateboard, outdoor rink and gateway areas.
In June, 2020, Ottawa City Council approved the commemorative naming of the gateway area for Centennial Park as the David Arntfield Recreation Area in memory of local resident and active community volunteer Dave Arntfield.
Phase 1: The Outdoor Rink and Basketball Courts
In July 2020, the Final Design for Phase 1, including a lit seasonal outdoor rink combined with basketball courts and related landscaping, was done by Fotenn Planning + Design.
Construction for Phase 1 got underway in late September 2020 with the removal of the outdoor rink boards, regrading, new granular for the basketball/outdoor rink area, de-commissioning and removal of the old light poles, design of new outdoor rink lighting to meet current City standards, and installation of the basketball base plates.
The paving for the new basketball courts, installation of lights, basketball infrastructure, and tree planting was finally done in fall 2021. The line painting and some asphalt mitigation will be finished in early 2022.
MCPRA worked in partnership with the City of Ottawa, Fotenn Planning + Design, McKee Electrical, and the Tomlinson Foundation.
Many thanks to the Tomlinson Foundation for their generous donation of in-kind work on Phase 1 and for kick-starting and managing the construction.
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Phase 1: The Skateboard and Gateway Area
MCPRA and the City of Ottawa have hosted four different stakeholder sessions to garner input from potential users. Based on this input, the following principles were put forward to guide the design of the skateboard area:
1. Appeal to all ages and skill levels, with an emphasis on intermediate, not elite levels
2. Meet multi-needs of the community e.g. skate board, scooters, bicycles
3. Take advantage of the elevations/ strengths of the site
4. Consider “Flow” – for safety; try not to include too many components
5. Integrate the skateboard/bike design into the broader park features e.g. pathways
6. Incorporate aesthetically pleasing design – especially for adjacent neighbours
7. Consider adjacent materials so that these materials support the skate park design
8. Work within maximum all-inclusive budget; budget permitting, consider concrete, with a lesser budget a concrete/asphalt combo
9. Do a custom design – not a template from another community
10.Protect the tree canopy and green edge of the site as valued by the community.
Phase 2 is being led by the City of Ottawa, in collaboration with MCPRA. In January 2022, the City contracted the services of Fotenn Planning + Design to manage the project and develop the design for the areas outside the skateboard portion, which will be designed by New Line, a company based in British Columbia, with offices in Toronto, Calgary, Florida and California.
With the significant input to date, Fotenn and New Line will be bringing forward a Preliminary Design in February 2022, seeking final input/feedback from stakeholders and the community. Subsequently, the design will be finalized and tendered. The target is to go to construction in the summer of 2022. It’s a tight schedule, but everyone is optimistic that Phase 2 will be completed by late fall of this year.