Williams Lake seeks Public Feedback on Waterfront Enhancement Project

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

The City of Williams Lake has launched a public survey seeking the community’s input as it works on conceptualizing a Waterfront Enhancement Plan for Williams Lake.

The City’s Parks, Trails and Outdoor Recreation Master Plan identified Williams Lake as a destination for outdoor recreation, encouraging the expansion of activities to promote an active, healthy lifestyle and the enjoyment of parks, trails and recreation opportunities.

One of the key recommendations in the master plan included promoting the Williams Lake trail area network and developing and expanding public access points along the Williams Lake waterfront.

The purchase of the RC Cotton site in 2018, followed by the construction and opening of the Nekw7usem Bridge in 2021 connecting Scout Island to the RC Cotton Trail opened up opportunities for the City to develop a conceptual waterfront enhancement plan to guide public recreational opportunities along the lake.

The vision is to bolster public recreation amenities through a multi-phased project with a long-term goal of developing and connecting the RC Cotton lands, Scout Island, the Stampede Grounds/downtown, the river valley and the south shore of Williams Lake. The end result would be a new active transportation network within the City.

The City is encouraging community engagement on this multi-faceted project and survey and wants to hear residents’ feedback as it enters into early planning stages. This will allow for better decision making and to satisfy a wide range of stakeholder, government agency, and community needs prior to implementation.

While the Waterfront Enhancement Project spans three areas including the RC Cotton lands and Scout Island, Mackenzie Avenue and River Valley Trail connection and South Lakeside Trail, the primary focus, initially, will be on the South Lakeside Trail as it includes two main activity nodes: a Waterfront Plaza and the Historic Beach Site.

The conceptual Waterfront Plaza and Boat Launch along the South Lakeside Trail will encompass roughly 2.5 acres and could be designed to be entirely accessible. Other public amenities could include a boat launch, pedestrian plaza, concession stand, floating dock, kayak/canoe/paddle board rentals, day use areas, vehicle parking, food truck stalls and public washrooms, for example.

Through the survey, residents will have the opportunity to review the location and provide comments on what they would like to see in both proposed activity nodes.

Once completed, City staff will collect and track survey results for future design consideration and will communicate plans to the public.

The Waterfront Enhancement Project public survey consists of 15 questions, and can be completed online at www.williamslake.ca/waterfrontsurvey or directly at www.surveymonkey.com/r/P886W8L. Hard copies of the survey are also available at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex and at City Hall.

For more information contact the City’s Planner, Rafid Shadman, by email at rshadman@williamslake.ca or by phone at 250-392-1769.