Heather Park Ball Fields Being Decommissioned
Area being decommissioned is outlined in red at the bottom of the image – map courtesy City of Prince George
Prince George, B.C.- City crews are working in the Hart area of the City this week, dismantling part of Heather Park.
The ball fields have fallen into a state of disrepair over the past few years, and have seen little use. The City says the buildings and the fencing have “become a potential hazard to those who enjoy the area for activities such as walking and dog walking.”
It will be the end of the summer before all the work is completed.
Four years ago, the Prince George Youth Baseball Association said they didn’t need the fields anymore and asked the City to end the Association’s exclusive use agreement. One year later, the PGYBA removed all of its assets from the site.
The fields have been maintained by the City as a “non-active” sport field. The site will remain a designated parkland and the City will consider the site for “repurposing” as part of the Park Strategy which is under development. The Volunteer Park Youth Baseball Diamonds are not effected by this work.
An extra Park Strategy community has been added to the schedule. Originally, the last session was to take place tonight, but there will be one held at Ginter’s Meadow May 10th. That site is a designated off leash park, and the City has a plan to pave the trail that runs through the meadow to complete the Foothills Trail Link from 18th Avenue to Ferry Avenue. The paved trail will connect to the existing off-leash parking lot at the end of Massey Drive and carry on to the portion of the Foothills Trail that was paved last year.
“This trail link is part of the City’s 30 kilometre Centennial Trail Loop,” says Laurie-Ann Kosec, Strategic Park Planner with the City of Prince George. “Paving the route will make the meadow more accessible and available for citizens of all ages and mobility levels, which is important for many residents as the City does not yet have an accessible trail within any of the other two off-leash areas in the City.”
The schedule for the final two Park Strategy meetings will see one held this evening from 6-8 at the Cpl Darren Fitzpatrick Bravery Park in the Hart, and one on Tuesday May 10th from 1pm to 7 pm at Ginter’s Meadow.
There are two other park notes to pass along.
The Connaught Hill Park is now open for vehicle access. Gates will be open from 8am to 9pm now through August, and from 8 am to 7:30 pm in September and October.
And the Rotaract Spray Park is open at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. It will remain open until late September.
Comments
Glad to see this happening. At this point it’s a target for vandalism.
Interesting. There are numerous parks in use that are in a state of disrepair that are clear hazards yet the city is spending money on this? I wonder who wants the land?
they could probable look at shutting down “Harry Loder” ball park on Rainbow Street as well… I can’t remember the last time it was used…and the buildings and stands there look anything but safe…
My kids league plays there every Monday and Wednesday.
I said probably, not for sure….city isn’t going to listen anyways.
except maybe to their “friends”
It was used last night.
Well now , that will be the perfect site for the indoor swimming pool we were promised back in “72”.
I’m sure they will get right on that .
:-)
I am still waiting for the promised sewer line down my road. The last time I asked when it was going to be done the staff at city hall said they were going to start it on the first of No-Never. (:
When the City had their Town Hall meeting on the Hart, there was a big interest in an off leash dog park for that area. Just to clarify….this is not Volunteer Park, it’s across the street from there. It’s the ball park area behind the Elksentre.
At Heather Park the city should keep some of the fencing and repurpose an area for dedicated Remote control cars park. It would be a perfect area for that kind of thing. pG really lacks in this kind of amenity.
Also I think the end of Massey should be a future transportation hub. Start as a bus hub and later when the city grows it could be an end point for a trolley car service to the downtown. Then put in an escalator up Cranbrook Hill with a sheltered moving sidewalk to the university and some future high density high rises at the top of the hill. It could serve that whole section of Cranbrook hill as well as the high density neighbourhoods at the bottom of the hill with UNBC related housing.
Comments for this article are closed.