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Recreation Master Plan Tender Awarded
Fredericton, NB (January 14, 2008) - Fredericton City Council has awarded a tender to dmA Planning and Management Services Inc., in partnership with the Terrain Group and BDA Ltd., to prepare the municipality's new Recreation Master Plan.
The plan will address current as well as future recreation infrastructure and programming needs for the municipality. Work will include consultation with user groups and the public, an analysis of demographic data, a review of current recreation programming and infrastructure, and a look at recreation trends. The total project cost is $77,190, plus HST and the plan is expected to be complete by September 2008.
"The City of Fredericton is committed to providing a wide array of recreation and leisure facilities, programs and opportunities designed to enhance the overall health and well being for residents of the city and the region," said Coun. Bruce Grandy, chair of Fredericton's Community Services Committee.
"The municipality's parks, open spaces, natural areas, recreation facilities and leisure programs are an integral part of the public infrastructure system. They help make Fredericton an active and vibrant City, and will assist us in achieving our Green Matters goals. This exercise will help us get the most out of our efforts and investments."
The need to develop a comprehensive Recreation Master Plan was identified in 2007, with funding being approved in the 2008 budget. The plan will tie into the broader City of Fredericton Municipal Plan, which will guide the general direction of development in the city over the coming decade.
A request for proposals seeking the services of qualified recreation and urban planning consultants was released in November 2007, with a closing date of December 20. Four submissions were received and evaluated, with the highest scored proposal coming from dmA Planning and Management Services Inc., in partnership with the Terrain Group and BDA Ltd.
In general terms, the main objectives of the study will include, but not be limited to:
- Obtaining input from community groups, program participants, special interest groups, facility users/non-users and the general public to identify short, medium and long-term recreation and leisure needs and priorities.
- Incorporating demographic data and current recreation and leisure trends to identify existing, as well as anticipated recreation and leisure facility and programming requirements.
- Undertaking an inventory and assessment of all existing City owned recreation facility and parkland infrastructure, identifying strengths and weaknesses as compared to industry standards.
- Identifying acceptable standards for municipal, community and neighbourhood facilities (location, type, physical condition/age) and determining within each of these three areas, what recreation infrastructure will be required in the years to come.
- Examining the suitability of existing and proposed recreation and parkland infrastructure based upon current and projected local demographics, related community life-cycling, and industry norms.
The consulting team will include Wendy Donovan with dmA Planning and Management Services, who will serve as project manager, Barb Adderley, also with dmA, Kate Greene with the urban planning firm Terrain Group, and Jim Sackville, a landscape architect with BDA, Ltd. All have extensive experience in recreation and facility planning. The consultants will work with the Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee. The plan will come back to Council for formal adoption.
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Media Contact: Wayne Knorr, Communications Coordinator, City of Fredericton, 506-460-2181
