Laurie Park Update – A conversation with the Director of Parks for Department of Natural Resources

Grand Lake (D2N) – It’s only been five days since a public information meeting was held to unveil the upcoming redevelopment planned for Laurie Park in Grand Lake.  In the few days since those plans were revealed, residents from the area have pulled out all the stops to let their local politicians and the provincial departments involved, know they are not happy with the details they received at the Jan. 14 meeting and they intend to fight the proposed overhaul of Laurie Park to the very end.

News of the planned redevelopment for the park first came to light when regular users of Laurie Park bumped into surveyors during a daytime stroll this past September.  At that time park users say they were hopeful that what they had been told was overblown, and that much of the information they were given was nothing more than rumours. However residents are saying many of those rumours were confirmed at the Jan. 14 information session. In the wake of that confirmation, groups of citizens have rallied in an effort to preserve the park they love. Members of the group “Save Laurie Park”, are working diligently to keep the provincial parkland open and accessible to local residents who presently enjoy walking through what they affectionately refer to as  “nature’s gem”.

Members of the Save Laurie Park group took turns standing at the entrance to the park and at the Sobeys complex in Fall River during the past weekend, with a petition for people to sign. They say they will continue to gather signatures right up until the deadline for submitting them is up.

Plans for the redevelopment of Laurie Park includes flush toilets, showers, and even an amphitheatre, however the proposed plans also call for the removal of the picnic area that is presently available for daytime visitors to use during the summer months. It is also highly probable changes will be made to an area called “Big Head”, the rock cliff where generations of local residents have taken a “right-of-passage” leap into the cool, brisk waters of Grand Lake. In a telephone interview with District 2 News on Jan. 18, Harold Carroll –Director of Parks for the Department of Natural Resources Nova Scotia – said changes to the rocky point that juts out over the lake are necessary due to safety issues.

In an interview last October, Carroll could not confirm whether the redevelopment plan would allow for any land in Laurie Park to remain as a picnic area for day-visitors who often stop in for a picnic, a stroll through the park, or a swim. “The land-base is small, and we may not have enough land for that, (picnic area) but Oakfield Park is nearby, and it has an area for people wanting to picnic during the day,” said Carroll. However during the Jan. 18 interview, Carroll said it is unlikely any daytime-use-only area will be part of the new plans for Laurie Park.

Comments or updates to the Laurie Park situation from the office of Minister Percy Paris, the MLA for Beaver Bank – Waverley – Fall River, and from the office of the Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. John MacDonell have not yet become available, however all answers and comments from the Ministers to this news source will be posted as they do become available throughout the week.

Carroll said he is well aware of the controversy surrounding the Laurie Park redevelopment. Residents are voicing concern about the short time allowed for people to send their letters, comments, and input on the Laurie Park matter, to those in charge of making the decisions about the future development of the park. “We are on a very compressed time-line to get this project completed,” said Carroll. “We will be reviewing what options are brought forth.” Carroll said he expects all letters received by the end of January to be included for consideration by those making the decisions on the future development of the park.

“I realize there are people who are under the impression that some decisions have already been made,” said Carroll, “they have not.”

Laurie Park was chosen for redevelopment from among many parks in the province. “We have had to consider many factors when making plans for redevelopment,” said Carroll, “including disability and what are the types of uses in the park? There are a lot who walk so that may be something we will look at as well. We presented a concept, but that does not mean we have a concept in place. We developed an idea based upon the resource capabilities of this site. One of the big things we have to consider is the use of access to the shoreline.”

Many people have expressed disappointment over the proposed plan to remove all picnic and daytime access to Laurie Park from local residents during the summer months. Whether developers will revamp the plans for Laurie Park to maintain any kind of a daytime picnic and walking area has yet to be determined. “We don’t know at this time if there will be a spot or not” said Carroll. The suggestion by those in charge of redeveloping the provincial park – that local residents can use Oakfield Park to swim and to have picnics – is being met with anger and frustration by residents of the community who use Laurie on a regular basis; they say Oakfield Park has too many drawbacks.

“Why don’t they redevelop Oakfield Park and turn it into a camping park?” asked Judy Jones.  “That place is awful. When the parking lot is full, people park along the side of the road leading in, but then their cars get ticketed!”

Carroll acknowledged there are kinks that would need to be ironed out and he said planners might have to look at what is required at Oakfield Park to make it more picnic and parking friendly for users, when they make the changes to Laurie Park. “It may be that the plans will have to include a few upgrades to Oakfield Park as well,” he said, adding planners realize there are things that might need to be done there, in order to accommodate the plan for Laurie Park. “Most of that treed area in Oakfield is older growth,” said Carroll, when asked why Oakfield Park could not be turned into a camping park instead of Laurie Park undergoing such extreme changes.

“Laurie is the best place for an outdoor recreation park; it has the best land base and site conditions for camping. Oakfield has great lake access and a great lake shore for swimming compared to Laurie. If you take away the emotional things that are going on, Laurie Park is a better camping opportunity than Oakfield.”

Based upon the deed to the land donated for Laurie Park, Carroll said there does not appear to be any stipulation attached as to the designated use of that land. “The deed does not show any limitations to the purpose for the land; there is nothing explicit in the land action,” said Carroll. “It is to be used for park purposes, and that is where it went. We are looking again to make sure nothing was missed.”

The fact that the public has any input into the redevelopment of Laurie Park is different from the usual proceedings to revamp a provincial park.  Although provincial parks are often redeveloped without any public input as to what the public use is, it seems the reaction of residents to news of the proposed changes for Laurie Park may be nothing new. “We are aware of the passion with the provincial park,” said Carroll, “research shows how trends are for people to be uncomfortable to change.”

Members of Save Laurie Park and Friends of Laurie Park are encouraging people to continue writing letters to their MLA at  paris.office@ns.aliantzinc.ca and to Mr. Carroll at the Department of Natural Resources, carrolhe@gov.ns.ca . Emails to Premier Darrell Dexter should be sent to premier@gov.ns.ca

According to many people who have written to Mr. MacDonell, his office has issued identical replies to many of the emails people have sent – the Minister of Natural Resources is telling people to direct their concerns to Mr. Carroll at the DNR.

If you are still interested in directing your concerns to Mr. MacDonell, his email address is john.macdonell@ns.sympatico.ca

Councillor Dalrymple agreed it is a very good thing to write letters to your elected officials as part of your contribution to the effort to save Laurie Park from being totally lost to day-users, however please note that sending those letters to the councillor will have no bearing on the situation as this is a provincial matter, not a municipal matter.

“I note on many of the emails, that they have only sent them to me and that they must send them to the Province, Dept of Natural Resources, or MLA Paris’s office. As this is a Provincial matter only, the HRM has no authority here,” said the councillor  “I will try to respond to people to tell them that, but I am over- loaded with incoming emails and there is a very quick deadline here for responses to DNR so people should email them direct and cc me if they like.”

Updates to the matter will be posted as they become available. The comments posted on this news-site are wonderful examples of how important this park is to the residents who live here in our community. Please remember to take the time to direct those stories and comments in writing (letters or emails) to the appropriate persons mentioned in the above article. Harold Carroll – Director of Parks for The Dept. of Natural Resources – said input received before the end of the month will be accepted, however it is best to get those letters in as early as possible.