Creighton Park
Currie Park Playground
Wake Lake Nature Reserve
Bright Angel Park

FINAL DRAFT OF THE PARKS AND TRAILS MASTER PLAN 

(May 2018)

Below is a link to the Final Draft of the Electoral Area E Community Parks and Trails Master Plan. If you have any questions about the draft please contact the Parks and Trails Planner listed below below. 

FINAL DRAFT COPY OF THE MASTER PLAN

If you have any questions please email them to:

Tanya Soroka, Parks and Trails Planner
Cowichan Valley Regional District

tsoroka@cvrd.bc.ca


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Draft Master Plan Open Houses Summary
Two open houses were held in Electoral Area E to provide opportunities for residents to review the Draft Community Parks and Trails Master Plan, help identify priorities, and discuss the draft recommendations with CVRD staff and a member of the consulting team.  Approximately 40 people attended the open houses and provided feedback.  

February 28th, 2017, 6:00-7:30pm at Sahtlam Community Fire Hall
March 1st, 2017, 6:00-7:30pm at the Hub at Cowichan Station

There was support for the direction and key draft recommendations.  In particular, there was a lot of interest in and support for the proposed roadside pathways and off-road trails.  Some of the trails with the most support were: 

  • Sahtlam Greenway,
  • Koksilah Road between the Hub at Cowichan Station to the Trans Canada Highway,
  • Old Lake Cowichan Road (between Creighton Road (Currie Park) west to Electoral Area F), and
  • Barnjum Road (between Sunrise Road and Riverbottom Road).   

Attendees also had suggestions for other future roadside pathway and off-road trail alignments, as well as suggestions for improving the currently proposed routes.

 Individual comments from the open houses:

  • Thank you for the care taken to consult with the communities affected.
  • Increase walking and riding (cycling) roadsides throughout.
  • Explore the need for wildlife corridors and wooded areas in Cowichan Station.
  • Include end of Hanks Road/Sahtlam Estates road end (section not yet developed) as part of off-road trail system as there is already as pathway easement along this road.
  • Improve the maintenance of Belvedere trails.
  • I would like to see the trails connected before the roadside trail are created.
  • My highest priority would be “cheap and cheerful” signage for the existing “greenbelt” areas so we can walk to/through areas.  Those capital intensive works can come later, but it is better if people can use/enjoy the existing green areas that are already owned by the CVRD. 
  • Linking the Wilmot Road trail across the highway to the Hub is my priority.  My preference would be the south side of the road through the trees. 
  • Good to see more acquisition around Wake Lake.
  • Consider the forest northwest of Hanks Road Park.
  • Roadside pathway should extend all along Koksilah and Miller between Koksilah and Glenora Rd.
  • Trails for Glenora from Glenora Store to Glenora Trails Head Park.
Priority should be anything that supports walking and bike riding as a safe and viable alternative to cars between the Trans-Canada Highway, the Hub and the Sunrise Waldorf School.

Sahtlam Fire Hall

Open house 3 - people mingling

Comments and prioritization

Open house 3 - comment board

Summary of 2016 Survey for the Community Parks & Trails Master Plan

There were 78 community surveys completed by residents from Sahtlam (12%), Glenora (30%), Cowichan Station (23%), and Eagle Heights (8%), and from areas outside of Electoral Area E (27%).  The survey results were analyzed for all responses, for only residents of Electoral Area E, and for each separate community, but there were no significant differences noted.    

Overall:

  • 95% of respondents agreed with the Draft Vision statement.
  • Maintaining and improving existing parks and trails was identified as the highest priority followed by acquiring and developing roadside trails, and off road trails, and acquiring and developing more parks.
  • Hiking, bicycling and walking were the most enjoyed activities in Electoral Area E.

Trails:

  • An overwhelming majority of respondents want more trails developed in Electoral Area E.
  • Most Electoral Area E respondents prioritized natural surface/dirt trails (57%) over paved or gravel trails (43%).
  • The vote was close on which types of trails should be the priority: roadside pathways (55%) and off-road trails (45%). 
  • Survey respondents felt that the focus should be on recreational trails over commuting trails (78% overall, 73% Electoral Area E residents only).

Glenora Trails Head Park:

  • Most respondents (60%) felt that no additional improvements were needed in Glenora Trails Head Park; however, a few voiced concerns over the gun shot noise from the Cowichan Fish & Game Club.

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September, 2016 Public Open House and Community BBQ

 

Thank you everyone for coming out to the Glenora Trails Head Park for the Electoral Area E Community Parks and Trails Master Plan Open house.  It was a huge success with over 200 people visiting our table. All of the poster boards that were on display are posted here if you would like to see them again.
Results of the survey will be posted here as soon as they are tallied. Stay tuned!

More information contact: Tanya Soroka, CVRD Parks & Trails Planner at 250-746-2620 or email tsoroka@cvrd.bc.ca.

Photo of the Open House at Glenora Trails Head Park

 June, 2016 Stakeholder/public Workshops - Summary

To kick off the community consultation process, two stakeholder session were held on June 15th at the Eagle Hall and Sahtlam Fire Hall to get input directly from community members.  The consulting team provided a project overview and led the attendees through a discussion.  There was extensive detailed feedback provided, but among the highlights of the feedback were the following points:

Activities that the community values included:

    -  passive, nature-oriented activities such as hiking, bird-watching, kayaking and horse riding, 
    -  fitness-oriented activities such as jogging

map with notes from workshop
Some new amenities that were suggested included:
    -  outdoor fitness circuit (Glenora Trails Head Park), 
    -  new picnic/bbq facilities (Currie Park), 
    -  play spaces for a wider range of ages (Currie Park), 
    -  accessible nature trails, 
    -  nature/culture interpretive signage, and 
    -  more activities and community events in all the parks. 

There was a desire to:
    -  improve environmental protection, 
    -  provide more opportunities for people to connect to nature and 
    -  provide more access the Cowichan/Koksilah River. 

Key challenges included:
    -  undesirable/inappropriate use of parks due to remote locations and lack of on-site staff, 
    -  liability issues preventing more volunteer involvement in maintenance, and 
    -  the need to balance park development with the ability to maintain and manage those amenities.

Other opportunities highlighted  as important by the participants:
    -  connector trails, 
    -  improved natural trails, 
    -  improved roadside connections, 
    -  better signage and maps, and
    -  more connections between key destinations. 

It was also suggested that the Cowichan Valley Trail/Trans-Canada Trail could be enhanced to better highlight key features in the community.

vision
Project Timeline