City plans multi-million dollar parks & rec expansion in 2012

Posted Jan 12, 2012 By Bill Hutchins

EMC News - The New Year brings some new priorities at Kingston city hall.

Parks and recreation will get some major improvements in 2012, starting with the much-anticipated facelift of Lake Ontario Park. The $4.5 million project will see the scenic west end park turned into an all-seasons attraction.

"There will be a splash pad similar to what we see in City Park. There will also be accommodation for an outdoor skating rink in the winter time," said community services commissioner Lanie Hurdle.

She says the construction contracts have been awarded and crews will mobilize on site early this year. The work will take about two years to complete in order to minimize disruption for regular park users.

"We heard very clearly from the public that they wanted to see a section of the park remaining open at all times so we will have to stage the work," said Hurdle, whose department oversees parks and recreation.

The splash pad/skating pond is to be located along the park's eastern boundary on what is now used as a parking lot. Other improvements include new pathways, shoreline and beach improvements, plus a canoe rental business and extended fishing platforms.

Artillery Park Aquatic Centre will also get a big splash of cash this year.

A $12 million expansion and modernization of the busy fitness and recreation centre on Ordnance Street will replace the building's aging mechanical systems, while offering new amenities for recreational users.

"We are planning to add a second leisure tank," said Hurdle.

The second indoor pool, though much smaller, will be part of a building addition beside the current pool. This will involve closing the current pool for an extended period during the construction phase though a date for the pool's temporary closure has not been announced, Hurdle added.

Also, two Kingston parks are getting 'skate of the art' equipment.

The city is currently constructing two skate board facilities in Grenadier Park and Polson Park that are slated to open this spring. The skateboard facilities will provide a much smoother ride than the wooden ramps that formally existed in Polson Park.

"They are concrete skate parks which is something the city did not have previously. It's a new level of service for the community," said Hurdle.

The city's cultural community will also benefit from a revamped J.K. Tett Centre. The $11 million modernization project, approved by council late last year, will see the two storey waterfront stone building undergo extensive renovations to become the permanent home of a dozen local arts and cultural clubs. J.K. Tett's facelift will coincide with the ongoing construction of the Queen's University Isabel Bader Performing Arts Centre next door.

The J.K. Tett building will be closed for all of 2012 during the construction work, and is not expected to reopen until 2013.

On the roads, motorists won't get a very long reprieve from the detour signs.

A $17.4 million widening of John Counter Boulevard is slated to begin early this year.

The first stages of the road work will involve widening Counter Boulevard to four lanes between Division Street and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard. The as-yet-unapproved future phases, estimated at $50 million, will extend the boulevard widening to a bridge over the CN tracks at the Kingston Via train station.