The RM of Ritchot is planning to build a new park in Île-des-Chênes. At an online open house hosted by the RM on February 8, the IDC Legacy Park Committee announced their concept for a 40-acre park to be built on vacant land next to the TC Energy Centre.
The new park, when built, will connect to two existing parks in the community, Optimist Park and D’Auteuil Park.
Park Features
The proposed recreation space is set to include a toboggan hill, outdoor fitness equipment, a public art space, washrooms, hiking trails, BMX bike hills, as well as a skatepark and an all-ages playground.
According to the concept drawings, a large shelter or covered feature space will be built next to a large pond and surrounded by gardens and an amphitheatre.
In the past, this land has been used for agriculture and is currently a completely undeveloped clear-cut property. It is quite flat and has very few natural topographical features. Trees would need to be planted and developed to create a forest buffer to diffuse wind and provide relief from the elements.
There would also be plenty of green space, including a fenced dog park.
Many landscape and community planning experts have worked to study the area to bring about the best possible project.
Scott Rosin, a registered landscape architect, owns SiteworkLA, a landscape architectural practice based in Winnipeg. Rosin has worked with the RM to conduct several extensive design studies on existing legacy parks, considering topography, drainage, and any existing trees and other factors at the proposed site.
He says the area in Île-des-Chênes will work well within the surrounding properties and allow for a flow of both park users and maintenance vehicles or workers.
“The whole site is to be connected by a system of multipurpose trails, which could be walking trails, biking trails, or in winter could be cross country skiing,” says Rosin. “There would be a bridge midway through the pond that would carry you across from one side to another. We’ve put a variety of large and open fields that could support a variety of events from soccer, ultimate frisbee, picnics, and some lawn space for that type of activity.”
One major feature in the park is the water, which Rosin says will be designed to be more interactive, not just something a person sits and watches. There will be a boardwalk and large viewing platform, in addition to a space for seating. The park will also include opportunities to interact with the environment, perhaps with a habitat that would attract birds and wildlife.
The concept includes a circular structure called Oak Island, which will be located at the water’s edge, overlooking the pond. Old Island, for the uninitiated, is the English translation of Île-des-Chênes.
Project Timeline
This park is the next step in a long line of recreation efforts conducted in the RM of Ritchot.
In 2013, a recreation study was conducted to determine the needs of the entire municipality. A number of initiatives were identified as potential projects and Recreation Director Amber Mamchuk was hired to see them through to completion.
Park space was prioritized in multiple areas throughout Ritchot, including in Grande Pointe and Ste. Agathe.
At the end of August 2020, the community and recreation leaders conducted an on-site analysis in Île-des-Chênes. In October, a committee was struck to begin preliminary conceptual planning. Designers prepared preliminary plans for consideration and met with the steering committee to develop a master plan.
Now that the new park is at the open house phase, Mamchuk is excited to present that master plan.
Mamchuk has been working with the RM of Ritchot for more than eight years and this park will be the biggest project she has worked on. The scale of the project is impressive and Mamchuk hopes the community will be excited to see what could be part of this area in the future.
“Based on the survey results we received from the community, it’s not necessarily the most exciting or flashy features we were striving for, but what would have the most impact for Île-des-Chênes, which is to create a safe space for people to be active,” says Mamchuk. “People want to go for walks, ride bikes, and have space to do that. We’re planning some changes in elevation which will be unique and we’ll be doing some of that type of work on the back side to lay the foundation for a great space, especially for the BMX trails. For walking, right now the only municipal park space is a small section of D’Auteuil Park. The other two playgrounds are at the schoolyards, so it’s pretty limited when it comes to use during the daytime. What’s being proposed is going to change all that significantly.”
Since the open house, the public has been encouraged to submit feedback. That feedback will need to be considered and incorporated in the plans. Together with the RM, the committee will then request the rights designation and zoning for park use, obtain construction permits, and begin fundraising.
There is a substantial amount of work to be done and Mamchuk knows the bulk of the costs aren’t yet covered.
“The RM of Ritchot secured Hydro CDI funding, which was made available over ten years to various RMs along the Bipole III transmission line,” she says. “For the first several years, we coordinated the planning toward smaller RM projects and upgrading playgrounds. For the last four years, we’ve implemented funding toward one large community project at a time. Grande Pointe received funding for the clubhouse recently. St. Adolphe received it for the daycare, and Ste. Agathe for the dock and boat launch. So Île-des-Chênes is next to receive funding for a project.”
Mamchuk says the RM will work hard to secure grants from all levels of government. But none of that can move forward until the public’s response from the open house is amalgamated into the final design of the park.
“We’re still in the planning phase,” Mamchuk explains. “We’re not quite ready to drill down to the design where we’ll be able to pinpoint the final cost or start community fundraising. But when we did the survey, we asked for people’s input on whether or not they’d be interested in fundraising, donating in-kind services, and so on. So when it’s time for fundraising, we will reach out to those who responded as well as the general public for that kind of support.”
Community Response
The community response from the open house has so far been positive.
During the question-and-answer part of the open house, a few residents had questions about the park design and the potential challenges of the large pond at its centre.
“That’s quite a large amount of land set aside, and a large pond,” said Chad Leclaire. “I have a concern about geese. What is the plan for keeping the area safe for everyone using it, during nesting season, and also for clean up? Because everywhere you go, the areas that have ponds, the amount of goose droppings is substantial.”
David Wagner was on hand to answer Leclaire’s question. As president and senior landscape architect at David Wagner Associates Inc., he is on the planning committee and is working with the RM to develop the project.
“We certainly understand the problem—and in the detailed design, one of the challenges would be to do the edge condition to mitigate geese,” said Wagner, who has extensive experience in largescale outdoor landscaping projects, including parks and memorial sites. “We know if you have a lot of cattails or bulrushes around the edge of the pond, it makes it less attractive for the geese rather than have the edge treatment of the lake manicured down to the edge of the water. So that will be one of the design challenges we will have in designing the pond.”
Wagner used the example of golf courses, which have landscaping and plants installed at the water’s edge to deter geese.
“But geese won’t be able to be deterred 100 percent,” admitted Wagner.
He said that the committee will make a note of addressing the issue of geese droppings when it comes to discussing the park’s maintenance needs.
Another local property owner asked about potential drainage issues, as well as the concern over pond water health that has plagued other community ponds in the area. Notably, the Town of Niverville has had extensive issues and public concern over some of their ponds.
“Where is all the water going to come from to fill the lake?” asked one owner. “Will it be snow and groundwater, or town water, and will it be circulated so it doesn’t become a green sludge?”
After the open house, Mamchuk addressed these concerns.
“We’re just starting to get into [pond care],” she says. “The RM of Ritchot is a fast-growing municipality with quite a few new developments. Often in development design, they include retention ponds. In Grande Pointe and in St. Adolphe, there are retention ponds there. So [we will] gain experience in maintaining those ponds.”
Wagner added that the site designers have plans for drainage that will not affect existing properties. There is talk of having an onsite well to supplement the amount of water collected naturally by the pond. He says that designers think they can introduce an irrigation system so that open field can be irrigated from the lake itself.
“With wind going over the top and agitating the lake water, it should be fairly self-cleaning,” Wagner said. “Maybe [there could be] a pump or recirculation system at the east side of the lake, which would be attractive as a fountain and aerate the water to keep the water clean.”
Community members responded well to that idea, so long as it’s not going to affect other people in the community who use wells.
Another community member asked about a splash pad, saying that the community would benefit from one.
Rosin said that there is space for a splash pad allotted, and it is adjacent to the playground space. That said, the committee has so far decided not to include it as part of the concept plan, citing the maintenance cost.
Residents also asked about lighting to improve the security of the park and increasing the amount viable space that can be used during the winter when there is substantially less daylight.
“Yes, it will be lighted,” said Rosin, adding that the lights will likely not be part of the initial construction, but rather added later as funding allows. “It is a question for council to take up. Lighting is costly, and hopefully as the park moves along funding will come forward.”
When Will Work Start?
Wagner explained that the property, to his knowledge, has already been leased for this upcoming growing season to the farmer who has been using the land. Therefore, construction won’t get going in 2022.
“Hopefully, if everything goes well, we can look forward to perhaps breaking actual ground and move mud in the summer of 2023,” he said at the open house.
Shane Pelletier, councillor for Île-des-Chênes admits that the cost of the project will factor in to the construction timeline.
“With a project this size, if I win the lottery, it will be done in four years,” Pelletier says. “If I don’t win the lottery, we’re looking at a 10-year buildout for everything and anything the board decides we want to add after. It’s 37 acres of real estate we’re looking at, so it’s not an overnighter.”
Overall, Mamchuk says that the park committee has been working well together and people are excited about the idea of a new and expansive community greenspace.
“We’ve just recently launched this into the community, but what we have heard has been positive,” Mamchuk says. “Around the committee table, they’re quite excited about the design and how it has pulled the features in a cohesive way for the community.”
