The majority of Quesnel and Cariboo Regional District (CRD) residents do not want the Rotary Ball Park in Quesnel moved, according to recently released survey results.
A total of 345 people responded to the survey launched Oct. 1 by the City of Quesnel seeking feedback and ideas on possible improvements to the main city park, which serves as the central location for the Billy Barker Days Festival in July and the Quesnel Show and Shine in August.
Survey respondents listed the top five upgrades and amenities they would like to see, including general upgrades and refresh, seating and picnic tables, shaded areas such as trees and gazebos, more spray stations and equipment and update to a non-slip surface.
A limited amount of respondents want the park to stay the same, the city said Tuesday, Dec. 21, noting a significant upgrade to the park is likely a few years away.
Top three upgrades respondents said they would like to see to the stage were lighting, audio and screens.
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The city said upgrades to improve the stage making it more usable will hopefully be completed in time for the 2024 BC Winter games.
Also being explored is the possibility of a trail that goes up the hill by the cemetery and then goes along the curling rink to the hosting precinct.
While most respondents indicated they do not want the Rotary Ball Park to move, they could see a dog park, parking lot, additional green space or off-season ice rink as other uses for the area.
The city noted it is working on a planning process to review the needs of ball field users for the whole community.
“The intent would be to review all the various types of ball played in the City and determine whether or not upgrades to West Fraser Timber Park could be made that would enable consolidation of baseball fields. Until this process is complete, there will be no planning for this area,” the survey reads.
Other upgrades and amenities survey respondents indicated they would like to see include more seating and more shade.
The city has submitted funding for shade options at LeBourdais Park into the draft 2022 capital budget.
Design improvements are not anticipated to be publicly released until Spring 2022.
The full results of the survey can be found at www.letsconnectquesnel.ca.
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