Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Build Day Beckons Saturday, for McKay Street Park Volunteers

Construction is set for Saturday as volunteers take to the old ball field
at McKay and Kootenay to install new playground equipment

After a few delays to the original plan, this weekend will find a group of volunteers taking to the old ball field at the corner of McKay and Kootenay to begin the first phase of what they, hope will one day be an urban oasis on the west side of the city.

The McKay Street Park project Build Day arrives this Saturday and with a strong response to the call for volunteers the work will get underway bright and early Saturday morning at 8 AM, with hopes of having the work completed by 5 PM.

Volunteers will also watch over the construction site through the evening period, to allow for the cement to settle properly and to make sure the project is secure.

The first phase of the project, the children's playground moves closer to completion following the success of Transition Prince Rupert in the BCAA Play Here competition last year, which saw the Prince Rupert project win 100,000 dollars towards the construction of the equipment that will make for the new play area.

In addition to that large sum contribution to the project, the McKay Street plans have moved forward thanks to additional support whether financial or in kind, by a number of community partners.

Among those that have stepped up to lend support include: Marcan Construction , Storey’s Excavating, Rupert Lawn and Garden, Port of Prince Rupert, DP World, Redesign Rupert, Northern Savings Credit Union, Kaien Anti Poverty Society, Rupert Wood and Steel,  Northwest Community College, City of Prince Rupert and CityWest.



The original build day of last month was moved back a month owing to the cold temperatures of the time. The most recent update provided this week from Veronika Stewart of Transition Prince Rupert sets Saturday as the new day for the volunteers to assemble.


Once the park is in place, all that will stand in the way of the youngsters of Kootenay/McKay from taking to the new play options will be an inspection by the City of Prince Rupert, something expected to happen on Monday.

Following the inspection process, the park will be open for use, hopefully later that same day on the 9th.

The next stage of the redevelopment of the old ball park, is the introduction of a linear dog walk, which is expected to take place sometime towards the fall, providing funding for the plan can be raised towards the initiative.

The City made note of the dog park feature for the McKay Street area last month, that after they closed the un-official dog walk that had taken over the city's Doug Kerr Field at the Civic Centre.


The project has taken a three year process from the time it was first introduced in the Spring of 2015, to the work to come of this weekend, below are some notes when it comes to the McKay Street Plans along the way:

2018

February 27 -- Return of Winter, makes for delays for McKay Street Park's Build Day
February 16 -- March 4th the day for McKay Street Park Community Build Day 
February 15 -- McKay Street Park fundraising efforts to benefit from CityWest's Fibre launch party
January 9 -- Transition Prince Rupert set March for construction start to McKay Street Park

2017

December 14 -- Infrastructure, public works and recreation spending among the highlights for Capital projects in 2018
November 24 -- McKay Street Park clearing to start this weekend
November 17 -- Council motion puts Transition Prince Rupert's McKay Street Park plans in motion
November 10 -- McKay Street plans set for update Tuesday
August 17 -- Transition Prince Rupert hopeful for fall progress for McKay Street Park project
August 10 -- Lack of momentum on McKay Street plans making for growing Facebook conversations
June 24 -- BCAA PLay here makes it official for McKay Street Park
June 20 -- Prince Rupert park in line for award money from BCAA competition
May 31 -- McKay Street proposal featured on Global BC's Morning News
May 30 -- McKay Street Park project is ready for its Global BC close up!
May 25 -- A need for more details on McKay Street safety issues
May 23 -- McKay Street project makes for Top Ten Finalist in BCAA competition
May 17 -- McKay Street Fundraising campaign launched
April 19 -- Final Design for McKay Street Park to be revealed at Community meeting April 25

2016

December 22  -- McKay Street Park plans to move forward in January
October 18 -- Transition Prince Rupert hosting Annual General Meeting tonight
September 16 -- Public comment period now open for McKay Street Park concept proposals
September 6 -- McKay Street Park concepts to be revealed at mid month Info session
June 1 -- City Council session takes note that McKay street park bid came up short in BCAA competition
May 24 -- KraftHeinz's Project Play offers opportunity for community upgrades
May 13 -- McKay Street Park initiative submitted to BCAA's Play at Home competition
January 13 -- Mayor hails success of Placemaking conference and points to a new 2030 Sustainable City vision

2015

December 8 -- Transition Prince Rupert to host grass roots involvement conference in January
December 3-- Transition Prince Rupert hosting General Membership meeting tonight
November 27 -- Hays 2.0 gets splashy launch on City website
April 6 -- Transition Prince Rupert opens the discussion on the McKay Street Open Space


There is a dedicated Facebook page for the project which you can review here.

More information on Transition Prince Rupert can also be found from the organizations website and Facebook page.

For more community notes from around the North Coast see our archive page here.


To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

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