Birchwood Park Closed for Maintenance

You may have noticed that all of the entrances into Birchwood Park have been closed with fencing as of yesterday. Parks staff will be making several improvements throughout the park over the next couple of months, much of which was explained at a Public Information Centre earlier this month at Lorne Park Secondary School. The notice, mailed to every household in the community, contained a map/diagram of the proposed work:

• topsoil will be added to specific areas at the bottom of Kentucky Hill;
• the existing path going west from the bottom of the hill towards Clarkson Road will be rerouted to run closer to the fenceline boundary of the development property 
• the multiuse/basketball pad will be repaved
• a new paved walkway will be created going up the east side of Kentucky Hill, with a small paved observation pad at the top -- and a gravel path will lead down the other side towards the baseball diamonds to join up with the existing path
• some invasive species of plants will be removed
• some new trees will be planted
• existing tree areas to be preserved will be fenced
• some new edge planting will be done around preserved tree areas and along the creek

In general, the park will look great once the work has been completed. Areas were disturbed during the construction of the sewers along Lakeshore (which was routed through the park), resulting in the need for soil and pathway replacement. Unfortunately, there was some negative press surrounding this which blew it completely out of proportion. The park land is safe for use by humans and animals; it simply needed some attention, maintenance and beautification. We will be the beneficiaries.
           It is great to have a park like this in our own back yard. Please be patient and considerate. We will have our park back soon, and looking better than ever!