From updating trails to repairing tennis courts, here is what else is going on in Saanich Parks.
- Copley West Park - building updates
- Cuthbert Holmes and Tillicum Parks - tree work
- Hyacinth Park - Garry Oak meadow restoration
- Playfair Park - washroom replacement
- Regional Pickleball Strategy
Building Updates - Copley West Park
The building used in Copley West Park by our Saanich Neighbourhood Playground Program (SNPP) and the Greater Victoria Minor Football Association is getting a much needed refresh! Coming soon will be new doors, windows and siding. Due to an arson incident, there are delays in repairs as the washroom was significantly damaged.
Park Updates - Cuthbert Holmes and Tillicum Parks
Members of the urban forestry and nautral areas teams will be performing tree work in Cuthbert Holmes and Tillicum Parks to mitigate trees near main pathways. Such work zones will be clearly marked and paths will be closed for everyone's safety while work is in progress. As a natural areas park, visitors are not to proceed off trail to detour the area. Please respect the active work zones and signs posted.
Our teams will be restoring some of the areas where trees were removed including planting new trees!
Some other exciting updates will be happening around the park too now that the McKenzie Highway interchange project is pretty much done. This includes pathway improvements, invasive Hawthorne tree removals and more restoration and plantings. We have already added new duck boxes, swallow houses and roosting nest structures around the park.
Hyacinth Park - Garry Oak meadow restoration
This year our team will be undertaking a Garry Oak restoration project in the north corner of Hyacinth Park. Activities will include:
- Delineating 3 sides of this Oak grove with a split rail boundary. We will leave the NW side open and provide some natural log/rock seating.
- Leave mow strips along the adjacent property, the Daffodil frontage and the asphalt pathway.
- Restoration planting this Fall within the Oak grove, including 1-10 gallon Garry Oaks.
- Large woody debris placed throughout the restoration area.
- Restoration signage.
- Air spading to reduce historic compaction.
Playfair Park - washroom replacement
Have you heard? We are installing a new washroom building in Playfair Park later this year (assuming all prep work is done!). The new building will have two private stalls that are open year-round and will replace the existing washrooms which are on a septic system. It will be near the parking lot off Rock St.
The washroom location was chosen for functionality and to avoid the damage to tree roots and infrastructure that would be necessary to locate it where the existing building is. The existing building will continue to support volunteer restoration work and Parks operations.
We will do our best to minimize disruption as underground power, sewer and water services are brought to the new building site, and the new washroom is installed – thank you for your patience.
Contact us at parks@saanich.ca for more information.
Regional Pickleball Strategy
Together, the City of Victoria, the Township of Esquimalt, the District of Oak Bay and the District of Saanich are developing a Regional Pickleball Strategy.
Pickleball has become an important recreational activity for many residents in Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay and Saanich. In a short period of time, each community has installed new courts and developed drop-in or online booking systems to manage use. With the growing popularity of the sport, it has become important to create a plan for the future of pickleball in the Greater Victoria Area.
The Regional Pickleball Strategy will address the needs of pickleball court users while sensitively integrating existing and proposed courts into communities.
We want to hear from you! We invite you to complete a survey on behalf of your household. The survey focuses on current and future pickleball court use, booking systems, and the impacts of pickleball courts. Your feedback will inform the recommendations within the Regional Pickleball Strategy, which will be shared with the community in winter 2023/2024.
The survey is open until July 16