Project Planning
Planning Your Park
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PROJECT PLANNING
The Building Blocks for Success
A masterplan is an aspirational document to help you meet the goals for your community and conservation areas.
A project anchors that plan. Each project will provide another anchor to the overall vision for your space. A project might be presented by an organization interested in a particular activity, or might arise from an opportunity to advance conservation efforts around a specific location. No matter what the project is or who is behind the process, there are some crucial pieces needed to set the groundwork for a successful project.
Elements of a Successful Project
Set your project plan up for success by bringing together some key elements early in the process.
Click on each title for more information. You can also read more about Project Development in the next section.
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Just like your masterplan, a project requires some expertise to bring together the technical aspects. If your project is a playground for example, there are consultants and experts that can help with preliminary research. If the project is a disc golf park, get in touch with the association to get their advice on how to start.
Even if it’s something that you can tackle internally, consulting with experts can cut project time by ensuring you’re tackling tasks efficiently.
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Gathering information on the cost to build and run a project, and the potential sources of revenue, is a key aspect of any project planning. The budget doesn’t have to be a final cost; rather it’s a guiding estimate of the expenses and revenue. Keep in mind the longevity and potential ongoing maintenance resources.
If the project requires a new facility, long term planning for maintenance and attracting a sustainable user group is crucial. If the project makes fairly low impact use of an existing park amenity, consider the costs for maintenance and the potential for raising revenue from the user group in the long term.
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Your project idea will have a better chance of success if it fits into the park or community masterplan, and the vision for the area.
Does the masterplan focus on conservation of key heritage buildings as part of the publicly accessible parks system? Is there an underused area that fits into the development goals of the community? The masterplan should provide key information not just on the goals, but also the existing amenities and the capacity to maintain those amenities along with any new projects.
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A good plan can stall if the details, schedules, approvals, and timelines don’t align. Projects require permits to start development, approvals from council, inspections, available funding, and careful scheduling. You might get approved for funding but with a limited window. Does this time frame fit contractor schedules, weather restrictions, supplier delays, or additional permits and council budget approvals? A good project manager can help to align a lot of moving parts and account for contingencies that may cause delays.
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While every community has unique needs, everyone can benefit by leaning on the knowledge and experience of others. ASUPCA members frequently meet and discuss their parks and processes, and are happy to share that knowledge with others.
This user guide is a good starting place, but finding out from other communities where and how to find capable consultants, vendors and suppliers, and useful resources for your park takes you a step further. Use your networks to build a list of professional contacts with solid references from those who have been there!
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Before you get too far into your project plan, get a picture of your community’s needs with a public engagement process. Getting feedback from your community, region, or users balances gathering important information, and providing an opportunity to educate the public about your project plans.
*For more information on public consultations as part of project development, click here.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
High Impact Core Projects
Your high impact projects may be something for which your community has expressed support. It might be something that improves access to existing infrastructure, such as paved trails connecting recreation facilities or neighbourhoods. It might be a facility that encourages tourism and supports local business by creating a reason for residents or travelers to visit an area.
High impact projects should be viewed as long term anchor points, and therefore may require a higher initial investment. Your high impact project might include building an accessible playground, constructing a building such as an interpretive or visitor centre, developing an outdoor classroom area, or putting in infrastructure to preserve a shoreline, water access point, or erosion area.
Care should be taken to incorporate your long term vision within the project planning. For example, if your park vision is to bring in visitors from outside of the community to enjoy an attraction, and to spend time within the community, investing in a large, paved parking area with adjacent outdoor amenities that encourage and welcome travellers to stay and shop in local businesses would be a high impact core project if located correctly.
This core project could also generate new partnerships with businesses, and may spur further community investment into building out more tourist attractions, trails, or new businesses around the park to attract more visitors.
Little Red River Park in Prince Albert has long been a tourist attraction for travellers on the adjacent highway who enjoyed the natural trails and cross country ski trails. The park masterplan included a focus on creating more amenities adjacent to the existing trails and picnic area that would encourage more visitors to visit the park.
One anchor project to help bring families out was a play area with multiple activity options attractive to a range of ages close to picnic areas. This high impact project fit well within the park setting, and met the needs of travellers who considered the park a worthwhile attraction at which to stop and stay.
CHECKLIST ITEMS
Start to gather information needed to set up a project for success. These elements will help you build a project plan that you can then take to council, or to funding partners.
Use your vision and masterplan, and input from your advisory committee, to develop ideas for a high impact core project to anchor your park masterplan.
Wascana Centre in Regina