Kingsland Summer park pilot
September 2024 Update
After a summer of fun, pop-up park activities in Kingsland, we are now seeking feedback on the Summer Park pilot and future park improvements. Join the conversation online and share your feedback on our Engage page from September 16 – October 14, 2024. Or visit the Project Team in person at our community event on Sunday, September 29 from 1-4 p.m. We’d love to hear from you!
Other important news
In September, The City informed the Kingsland Community Association of its decision to designate the former Kingsland School site as park space for the long term. There will be more work done in the coming months to explore future ideas for the park. There is no funding in place for future park improvements yet, but the upcoming engagement is the first step that will be valuable in advocating for this project.
Summer Park
This summer, The City built a temporary "pop-up" park in Kingsland, creating new spaces to play, socialize, relax, and gather in the community.
Kingsland Summer Park was a fun pilot project aimed at trying out and testing new ways of improving the use of public spaces in Calgary.
The Kingsland Summer Park project aligns with the core values of the Heritage Local Area Plan: "to enhance and improve civic facilities, parks, open spaces and natural areas."
It is funded by The City’s Parks Infrastructure Lifecycle Fund. The park is an interim solution that provide access to public spaces that serve active and passive recreation needs for all ages, while enhancing the area’s environmental quality of life.
The Summer Park will be available for public use from mid-July to October 2024.
Timeline
- Former school site demolition and remediation: Fall 2023 to Q3 2024
- Pop-up Summer Park Construction and Install: July 2024
- Summer Park Open: Mid-July to Oct 2024
- Summer Park community feedback: Sept 2024
Location and features
Kingsland Summer Park was a temporary activation for the community to enjoy, while inspiring ideas for future park improvements. The installation of new, temporary park spaces is intended to create community connections.
The Summer Park pop-up park was located just south of the former Kingsland School site, at the corner of 5 Street and 75 Avenue S.W.
The location of the temporary Summer Park is marked in blue on the map above. The former school site will be fenced off and seeded. The grassy park area (in green on the map above) will continue to be used as a field for sports and play.
Park features include:
- Colourful artwork created by a local community artist
- Recreational activities including:
- mini golf
- table tennis
- box hockey
- Gaga ball
- A City of Calgary play bin for equipment
- Seating options, including:
- Muskoka chairs
- picnic tables
- logs and stumps
- Bike racks
Why now?
Conversations with the Kingsland Community Association identified a wish for added play spaces on the former school site. The temporary “pop-up” will identify and encourage creative uses for the site that can inform future planning.
What's next
As we implement the temporary Kingsland Summer Park activation, additional communication with the community is being planned to raise awareness of activities in the park.
We will continue to work with the Community Association and residents near the project site, to understand priorities, to align this work with other City policies and plans, and to identify key considerations that meet community needs – today and in future.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pop-up park?
A pop-up park involves activating a public space with a temporary park that the public can use on an interim basis. Pop-up parks are a convenient way to add parks to underutilized public spaces for everyone to enjoy.
Why is this park considered interim, or temporary?
This small, pop-up park being created next to the former Kingsland School site will be for interim (temporary) use only, to create added recreational and play spaces this summer.
The long-term vision is to develop a master plan for the site, so things need to change and evolve as the plan takes shape. Funding is not yet in place for the longer-term project.
What are the next steps?
We want to understand community needs, wants, ideas, concerns, and feedback on this pilot park project.
There will be an opportunity to provide feedback on the Kingsland Summer Park in September 2024, through a structured engagement process.
We will use this feedback to inform future activities in Kingsland and in other Calgary neighbourhoods.