Newmarket council approves $615,000 Lions Park drainage improvement project

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 4, 2016
Chris Simon

Lions Park is getting some long overdue work.

Newmarket council approved a plan to increase funding for the Lions drainage improvement project to $615,000, up from an initial $304,000, during a brief meeting Monday night. Staff are now authorized to proceed with the project, which will be funded by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Area and Environment Canada grants ($171,000) and the town’s asset replacement fund ($444,000).

The Lions improvements will lead to less flooding at the park and adjacent properties. The existing drainage channel will be relocated further away from D’Arcy Street and deepened and widened. A wetland feature will be constructed near Lorne Avenue, to reduce the risk of downstream flooding. Construction should begin later this year.

Construction needs to be completed by March 2017 in order to obtain the LSRCA and federal cash.

Approval had been deferred for a few weeks, while staff conducted consultation with residents. Development and infrastructure services commissioner Peter Noehammer has suggested the deferral should not compromise that completion timeline.