William Hawrelak Park Rehabilitation Project

Project Timeline

2023-Future

Construction (as early as 2023, dependent on condition assessments and funding)

2019-2021

Complete additional studies, confirm priorities and begin design

2018-2019             

Development of Hawrelak Park 10-Year Rehabilitation Plan (Concept)

Project Overview

Edmonton is a growing city with infrastructure dating back 30 or more years. The City of Edmonton prioritizes rehabilitation of aging buildings and parks to ensure they will serve Edmontonians now and for years to come.

William Hawrelak Park is one of the most popular parks in Edmonton. This park has been identified as a priority to address aging park infrastructure that requires repair, replacement and upgrades in order to meet current and future demands of the park. This project includes the development of a 10-year rehabilitation plan to guide reinvestment within the park.

The rehabilitation plan considers the physical and functional condition of the assets, the current policies that are in effect and the operational requirements to maintain and sustain the park. The plan identifies the priorities for renewal, cost estimates, schedules and explores options for sequencing the work. This plan provides the roadmap for the rehabilitation of the park and supports the next steps in the design phase.

Project Update

Developing the Rehabilitation Plan

Development of the William Hawrelak Park Rehabilitation Plan that will guide re-investment in the park is now complete.

Condition of the Park

All assets in the park including the trees, roadways, paths, buildings, underground and above ground utilities, park fixtures and furniture, were assessed to better understand their current physical condition. This condition assessment helped to evaluate the useful life of all the amenities and infrastructure in the park. Assessing the park condition was the first step in figuring out a long-term rehabilitation and maintenance plan.  

Public Engagement

The next step was to meet with the people who use the park. Various user groups, including the festival and event groups onsite, residents in the area and general park users had an opportunity to share their feedback and perspective on the park’s current state and hopes for the future. Citizens were asked to share their feedback and perspective. Engagement was completed through online surveys, focus groups, intercept and drop-box surveys at the park and an in-person neighbourhood event.  The information and feedback gathered informed the rehabilitation plan by providing a greater understanding of how the park is currently used and how it could better support programs and services, safety and security and access and circulation for years to come.

A summary of the engagement: What We Heard Report

Developing the Implementation Plan

Prioritizing the work

The rehabilitation priorities were established based on the physical and functional condition of the amenities and infrastructure onsite. The following graph illustrates the cost distribution for rehabilitation of each area of the park.

view larger image

Sequencing the work

Further planning and design, as well as a funding strategy, is necessary to determine next steps for implementing the rehabilitation plan. This next step of planning work is important to better understanding how the network of amenities and infrastructure are connected.