CITY OF KAMLOOPS SUSTAINABLE KAMLOOPS PLAN

INFORMATION PACKAGE ON PARKS AND RECREATION (Final Version –2010 January 19)


BACKGROUND
Access to recreation is important to maintain and promote active living and social well being. Kamloops is fortunate to have a diverse range of parks, recreational facilities and programs available throughout the community.  Organized sports and leisure programs are offered through the City’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and opportunities to participate in passive recreation activities such as walking, hiking, and cycling are available throughout the community in a variety of parks and trail networks.  Recreational opportunities are further bolstered by the Tournament Capital program and associated facilities which bring athletes to our community for a variety of sports tournaments and events.  Together, these recreational opportunities help Kamloops maintain a high quality of life for all.

The Tournament Capital Program is a key economic generator for Kamloops and sustains a number of businesses in the community.  The program brings many people to the community and supports hotels, restaurants, sporting goods stores, guides and other businesses.  In 2008, 116 tournaments of varying size were hosted in Kamloops.

Participation rates in recreation and leisure activities have steadily increased over the last few years.  Linear recreation, “walking”, is the most common form of recreation and contributes to how we move around the City. The City’s Citizen Satisfaction Survey (2009) showed that walking is the most common form of exercise for Kamloops residents. Active transportation options such as cycling and walking routes provide lifestyle options which not only contribute to health and wellness, but also can reduce our reliance on vehicles.  
Parks and recreation facilities are also an important component for developing social connections. They provide opportunities for people to get together to engage in common interests such as engaging in physical activity, either organized or unorganized, as well as the opportunity to celebrate special events such as Canada Day.  These are important to developing a unique sense of community and support the sustainability of Kamloops.


BASELINE CONDITIONS
In order to support the Tournament Capital Program, and recreation in general in Kamloops, there has been a great amount of emphasis on developing high quality facilities.  As can be seen in Table 1, Kamloops enjoys access to a number of different types of facilities; in most cases the number of these facilities exceed those of other communities of similar size in the province.

Table 1 – Comparison of Recreation Facilities Offerings
Community Population Public Indoor Pools


Ice Sheets*
Curling Sheets
Kamloops -----------86,236 --- 36 ---14 --- 24
Kelowna -----------118,507 --- 36 ---12 --- 32
Vernon ---------------38,444 ---- 1 ---- 3 ---- 8
Nanaimo -------------82,937 ---- 2 ---- 5 ---- 8
Prince George -----74,092 ---- 2 ---- 6 ---- 8
* This does not include privately-owned facilities


Other recreation facilities within Kamloops include: 1,350 ha of developed and natural parkland (15.7 ha/1000 people)  82 parks including:


- City-wide parks – These parks are generally greater than 10 ha and are intended to service the entire community.  These include: Riverside Park, McArthur Island, Peterson Creek, Memorial Hill, Pioneer Park, Kenna Cartwright Park, Rivers Trail (linear park) and Kamloops Wildlife Park.


- District parks – These parks serve a “district” which typically includes more than one neighbourhood and range in size from 6 ha to 16 ha.  These include: Westsyde Centennial, Brocklehurst, Albert McGowan, Pacific Way and Rae-Mor.

- Neighbourhood parks – These parks are intended to accommodate residents in within the immediate vicinity and are often association with elementary schools.  These parks are typically 0.1 to 0.8 ha and often include playground equipment.  These include: Aberdeen, Batchelor, Cottonwood, Mt. Dufferin, Valleyview, Crestline, McDonald, Juniper, Pemberton Terrace, Thompson, Todd Hill, Overlander, Westmount, McBeth, Prince Charles, Len Haughton.
Public Tennis Courts


- Tot Lots – These are small areas that provide local service; typically users walk to tot lots.  There are approximately 30 tot lots in Kamloops.

- Natural Areas – These comprise over 75% of the City’s park base and are classified as open space and nature parks.  They may contain unique or valuable ecosystems and/or cultural or historical features and service passive outdoor recreation.

-Trails – these exist throughout the City; the most notable is the Rivers Trail; and,  Dozens of soccer fields and baseball diamonds.

GOALS

The following goals will be pursued with respect to parks and recreation: Ensure residents of all ages, income levels, and abilities have access to high quality recreation facilities and opportunities; Increase the proportion of its population leading healthy and active lifestyles;  Build on the City’s reputation as Canada’s Tournament Capital;  Protect natural areas and recognize their mutual benefits to health and wellness, and environmental conservation; and  Increase the diversity of potential recreational activities, both organized and unorganized.


TARGETS
The following targets will be pursued with respect to parks and recreation: Provide adequate facilities and associated programming to serve the needs of the City’s evolving population from numeric, demographic, lifestyle / recreation trend and other perspectives; Increase the availability of active transportation facilities including walkways, trails and related facilities used by pedestrians, cyclists, hikers and other active users; Encourage on-going engagement of people in recreation through all stages of life as participants, coaches and/or ambassadors; Focus special attention on engagement of youth in recreation programs and pursuits in order to provide the attendant social and health benefits, as well as encourage a healthy lifestyle that will remain with them;

Ensure a high level of education and awareness within the community regarding the benefits of and opportunities for recreation; Achieve 200 tournaments per year by 2020, including 5 national level tournaments, as part of the Tournament Capital Program; Designate 15 to 20 ha of park space per 1000 people in Kamloops.  This ratio will include all types of park space (active, passive, open space and so forth); and develop a Parks Master Plan in 2010.