Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The Town of Kindersley is looking to use a parcel of green space adjacent to O’Connor Park and town officials are asking citizens to provide their ideas.

O’Connor Park is a green space in Rosedale located east of Thomson Drive and within O’Connor Crescent. The town is hoping to get ideas for how to utilize the irregularly-shaped space. People can provide their input either online at www.kindersley.ca or in person.

The parcel of land in question is now dedicated municipal reserve (MR) land and dedicated MR land is protected for the use of public parks, open spaces and other public amenities. The land is identified in a map on the town’s website.

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A release by the town suggests several potential uses for the space. The land could be used for a recreational venue or an area that is currently unavailable in town, or the town could just spruce up the space with landscaping. Suggested uses for the space include a basketball court, tennis court, unsupervised miniature golf course, beach volleyball court, bocce ball or lawn bowling court, or an open green space.

The town asks people for their comments on the suggested uses, but also for other options to consider. People could get the feedback form on the website and return it through email at [email protected] or in person at the town office. The deadline for providing ideas is Aug. 14, so people have two weeks to respond.

“We are looking for some ideas from the public of what they would like to see there,” Mayor Rod Perkins said of the land, recognizing that the odd shape of the green space has made it harder to know what to do with the space.

The mayor referred to the space as “a bit of a design nightmare” because a hedge was built up and the hedge cuts off the land from the rest of the park. The hedge has made it hard for the town to maintain the segregated area. The goal is to find a use for it.

Perkins said town officials want people to be able to use the space, so the land would be altered if one of the options or a combination of options is suitable enough for the space. He noted that several children use Rosedale parks even though they are tucked away inside pockets of green space.

He said the town does not want to develop a space that needs to be managed or maintained on a daily basis, but officials would like to make the space useful and usable. Perkins said it fits with council’s focus on park improvements.

“We’re on a park campaign this year to upgrade our parks and make them better,” he said, recognizing that council is open to ideas and it will be nice to improve the park to make it a better place for children. “This falls into our wheelhouse on that.”

Perkins said people could give their feedback and support on the suggested options, but people could also make their own suggestions. People could attach their suggestions to the form and they will be reviewed by council. It is too late to develop the space this year, but it could become part of the plan for 2018, he added.

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