Stouffville Memorial Park redesign includes new courts, trails, road

First phase of work will start next year

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 12, 2019
Simon Martin

The first phase of the of redesigning Memorial Park will kick of next year and the changes will be numerous. The most visible will be eight new pickleball courts and two new tennis courts that will be constructed on the southwest end of Leisure Centre.

Director of Leisure and Community Services Marilou Murray said there is already $846,000 approved for the courts and landscaping in the area.

Less immediate but long-term changes include a potential change to the road network.

A roundabout will be considered for Park Drive and Burkholder Street with more information on a study in 2020.

There will also be a new road considered that connects Franklin Street directly to Park Drive.

“That would negate Franklin being opened into the leisure centre parking lot where safety is always a concern,” Murray said. An environmental assessment of the road  is being considered by council as part of the 2020 capital budget.

“This has been a long time coming,” Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon. “I’m glad to see the environmental assessment is coming for the Franklin Street connection. This is a very important connection that we have to have in place before we even start talking about what’s going to happen with Burkholder Street and potentially what’s going to happen with Park Drive.”

The new information was part of a Memorial Park master plan unveiled at council Dec. 3. Town staff launched the “Design Your Memorial Park” campaign earlier this year and it garnered engagement and feedback from residents. A total of 508 residents provided feedback through the online survey. Two public open houses had a total of 108 participants who attended the meetings to share their views.

“They truly believe that Memorial Park is their urban park, a place where families should be gathering where there should a mix of passive activity as well as active activity,” Murray said.

Some of the top priorities identified by residents include a skating trail, splash pad, pickleball, tennis courts, picnic tables, trails and outdoor pool.
Priorities for 2020 include pickleball and tennis courts as well as background work on the skating trail and Rouge Park trail connection into Memorial Park. The town has applied for federal grants for the skating trail and Rouge Park trail connection.

“I’m excited to see some things start to happen in Memorial Park that’s long coming,” Ward 6 Sue Sherban said.

Council has long had traffic concerns with the intersecting roads of Memorial Park: Burkholder Street and Park Drive. It voted to close the road permanently through the park in June of 2018 only to reverse course later in the year after the election.

At the Dec. 11, 2018 council meeting, staff were directed to open the Leisure Centre driveway and Burkholder Street, west of Park Drive, to improve access to the local neighbourhood. Also at that time, council directed staff to implement an all-way stop control at the intersection of Burkholder Street and the Leisure Centre driveway.

With an Environmental Assessment scheduled for the area in 2020, council put in temporary speed humps in the area earlier this year. Kroon said it is important for the town to find a way to make sure the road doesn’t run through the park.

“The park is primarily used by kids and youth," Kroon said. "They are not primarily cognizant of the dangers of traffic.” As the Memorial Park discussions took place there was a lot of discussion around moving the lawn bowling club. As of right now Murray said the town is leaving it where it is currently located.