Saanich Municipality have notified us of additional work slated to happen at Gyro Park, ideally before the busy summer season. This includes:
- improvements to parking lot drainage and surface
- completing main pathway resurfacing extending from the washroom building to the park entrance at Sinclair
- drainage improvements in some of the grassy areas off Penrhyn
- new interpretive signage featuring historical aspects of the park
In particular:
- Parking Lot: The surface will remain gravel but will be re-graded to direct water to a central sub surface drainage spine. A system of pipes and catch basins will collect water from the parking area to be pumped to the large storm drain extending through the park. This design will allow the parking drainage system to function separately from the existing infrastructure which currently results in water backing up into the parking lot during high tides and heavy rain events.
- Pathway & Sinclair Entrance: The main pathway in the park from the washroom building to the Sinclair entrance will see an overlay of asphalt and subsequent stamping and colouring to match the design on the pathway work from last summer. Traffic flow and control improvements will be tied into the pathway work, including a marked crosswalk, at the Sinclair entrance.
- Grassy Area off Penrhyn: Some additional drainage improvements will be made in the grassy areas off of the Penrhyn. Existing catch basins will be lowered and one or two will be added in low lying areas.
- Interpretive Sign: Research and data collection for new interpretive signage is ongoing. This will be an opportunity to provide education and awareness amongst park visitors about the interesting history of the park and surrounding area. Input from First Nations is currently being sought and the sign concept will be sent to the Community Association as information prior to installation.
- Schedule: Crews are expected to be at the park from mid-May to the end of June, however this schedule is dependent on issues such as weather and ground conditions and may be subject to change. Notification signage will be installed in the park prior to the start of work and we’ll send you something to post on the CBRA website closer to the start of the project if you like. Installation of the interpretive signs will follow later in the summer.
The work will involve some machinery and truck movement to and from the park on neighbouring streets. At this time, it is anticipated that up to half of the parking lot will be closed at a time but every effort will be made to provide as much parking as possible during off-work time.
Public access to the majority of the park will be provided at all times and on-site workers will assist the public around the work areas during working hours.
For further information, contact Doug Henderson, Director of Parks & Recreation Department, District of Saanich, 780 Vernon Ave. Victoria BC V8X 2W7
