HOW WOULD YOU USE THE OPEN SPACE PROPERTIES?

Thank you to everyone who took the time on Saturday to attend the public open house at the Enfield Fire Hall. It was great to hear your ideas, comments, and concerns about the open space properties in Enfield "North."


If you were unable to attend the event this past weekend, you still have an opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas about how best to use the municipally-owned open space properties. These properties are currently undeveloped, and there is some interest among residents to see one or more of them put to use for the neighbourhood. 


We heard from a number of residents on Saturday. People brought forth various concerns about the properties. Many community members expressed their interest in seeing natural areas conserved, especially wetland areas. We also heard a lot of concern about safety and vandalism. These issues will certainly affect any plan we propose. 


There were also some great ideas for how to use some of these properties. Residents expressed interest in seeing some form of recreational space being developed, including playgrounds,  walking and jogging trails, community gardens, and natural playscapes. Many other ideas were floating around -- this is only a fraction of what we heard.


But call us greedy, because we'd like more! In the next two weeks, we want to hear more from residents. Send us your ideas about how you would like these sites used. If you could choose how to develop these properties for the neighbourhood's use, what would you do? Would you leave it as it is? Put in a tennis court? Clear a trail for cross-country skiing? 


We'd also like to know how you use the neighbourhood for recreation purposes now. Do you walk in the woods? Jog along the streets? Do you use the school playgrounds? Play street hockey? Knowing how you use the neighbourhood now will help us identify ways to improve recreation and open space amenities in the community.


Please, send us an email, join in the discussions on our Facebook page "Enfield North Open Space Plan," or leave a comment on this blog. 


Over the next three weeks, we are going to take these ideas and concerns, and develop some initial concepts of how to use the open space properties in your neighbourhood. We will present these rough ideas at a community meeting on Tuesday, March 8th at the Enfield Fire Hall beginning at 7:30pm for additional feedback.


If you have any questions about this process, or would like additional information, please don't hesitate to contact us by email at tamarack.ns@gmail.com.

AN OPEN SPACE PLAN FOR ENFIELD "NORTH"

Welcome to the Enfield North Open Space Plan project blog! 

The Municipality of East Hants’ Department of Recreation and Culture wants a plan for how to use open space properties in Enfield North. There are five municipal properties within the residential neighbourhood between Kali Lane and Shamrock Lane that have been set aside for use as public open spaces. Currently, none of the properties are developed or maintained for use by the neighbourhood. 

TAMARACK Planning + Design, a group of four graduate students from Dalhousie University’s School of Planning, has been asked by the Municipality to create a plan for how to develop and manage these properties. We are working with staff at the Department of Recreation and Culture to come up with designs for the open space properties, and a strategy for implementing and managing open space in the neighbourhood. 

Moving forward, we are interested to know what you would like to see on these properties. What kinds of recreational amenities does the neighbourhood need? Would you like playgrounds? Walking trails? Picnic tables? Playing fields?

We have a few ideas, but we’d like to know yours. So, we are using this blog to get the word out to your neighbourhood. We will use this site to pass on information we have about the properties, to get feedback from you through the comments section, and to let you know about upcoming open house events where you can tell us what you think about open space in Enfield North. 

If you’re on Facebook, you can also keep up on the planning process, and participate in discussions about open space possibilities on our Facebook page. It can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enfield-North-Open-Space-Plan/160742657307374

We’d like to reach as many residents in Enfield North as possible. Please mention the Open Space Plan to your friends and neighbours, and let them know about this blog. The more resident feedback we can get, the better the plan for your open spaces will be!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at tamarack.ns@gmail.com.

Map of Enfield North open space planning area. Municipality of East Hants (2011)

          
UPCOMING OPEN HOUSE - FEBRUARY 12, 2011

On Saturday, February 12th, residents of Enfield North are invited to an Open House to help plan municipal open space properties in the neighbourhood. Drop in to the Enfield Fire Hall any time between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM to view maps and information posters about Enfield North’s open space properties, and to offer your ideas or suggestions about how these properties could be enhanced and brought to life as focal points of community activity and sources of community pride.

The Open House will be hosted by TAMARACK Planning + Design on behalf of the Municipality of East Hants. We look forward to meeting area residents to get their ideas on how open space properties in Enfield North should be developed and used. 

If you have any questions about the Open House, or the Enfield North open space planning process in general, please feel free to contact us at tamarack.ns@gmail.com.