A Rotary Park to beautify waterfront in Canada As a legacy project to commemorate its 100th anniversary, RC Welland will be constructing a park along the scenic waterway with major attractions for the public.

Lincoln Street Docks will see the addition of a park in the future thanks to Rotary Club of Welland (Canada, RID 7090).

Rotary Club President David Alexander and other club members were at Tuesday’s Welland council meeting to announce the city was chosen as its 100th-anniversary legacy project recipient.

Alexander was before council a year ago to announce the project and open up a request for residents, Rotarians and former Rotarians to come up with an idea for the anniversary, something that would last for the next 100 years.

“We had really great ideas …,” said Alexander, adding there were a handful of applicants for the project, which had $100,000 attached for the successful recipient.

“Our partner going forward is going to be the city … it proposed to create a park on space along the Welland recreational waterway just south of Lincoln Street,” he said.

The club’s 100th anniversary is April 1, 2020.

The new park — to be called Rotary Park — will be roughly opposite Welland Community Wellness Complex. The city and Rotary club have had a number of conversations and come up with a memorandum of understanding.

Welland’s proposal was recognised for its creativity and commitment to developing a legacy park supporting the physical and emotional well-being of the community. The city will receive the $100,000 over a five-year period.

Ward 3 Councillor John Chiocchio asked if it is too early to get into specifics on what the park would look like and what amenities it might have.

Alexander said some things have been discussed, including signage at the entrance to the Lincoln Street Docks and along the public trails. He said there would be an area for people to have picnics and small concerts.

“There would be an area of reflection … we’re working on the design,” he said.

The city will relocate the Rotary bench to the new park, and form a plan to feature public artwork that supports environmental, social, cultural, heritage and age-friendly themes.

The park fits in with the city’s multi-phase redevelopment of the Lincoln Street Docks area, already home to a new skate park and soon to be home to a community boathouse.

“All the proposals we saw were excellent but we saw this one as a unique opportunity to create something publicly accessible with permanency,” said Alexander.

He said it would be an addition to Rotary named parks all around the world.

Mayor Frank Campion said the city is pleased to be the recipient and added the club does a lot of great work in the community.

“I’d like to thank the club for their significant financial contribution and continued volunteerism to our community. This contribution and the creation of the park builds on the momentum generated along with the investments made to create a public space … designed to bring more families and individuals to our recreational waterway to enjoy new amenities and programming,” Campion said.

Alexander said the club looks forward to continuing its work with the city.

The club has supported municipal projects for more than 70 years.

It helped fund construction of a city-owned swimming pool in 1939-40, assisted with purchasing two Well-Trans buses during the 1980s and 1990s, and has contributed to city playgrounds and ice rinks.

Source: The Welland Tribune