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Yorkson park planning underway

Township council will soon debate a large new park proposal.
59094langleyadvanceYorksonPark
Plans drafted earlier this year for the Yorkson Community Park. The off-leash dog area has since been expanded

An expanded off-leash dog area is in the cards for one of Langley’s largest upcoming park projects.

Earlier this year, Langley Township took plans for the Yorkson Community Park to the public.

Parks staff have now tweaked the designs and plan to present it to the council for a vote in early September.

The 52-acre site stretches from 84th Avenue south to 80th Avenue, and is just to the west of 208th Street, running alongside the Yorkson Creek housing development and some mostly vacant plots of land.

The big change after the recent open house is that a dog off leash area will be doubled in size to 1.5 acres, said Al Neufeld, head of parks design and development.

The major features of the park will be public playing fields.

The existing Yorkson Community Park, a smallish park with a softball diamond and some trails on 84th Avenue, will expand to the south.

Three slow-pitch softball fields, four synthetic turf fields, existing ball diamonds, and planned features such as a skateboard park and tennis courts, will cover the landscape.

A large water spray park will be built in the center of the site.

On the west side there will be walking trails that parallel the Yorkson Creek and its ravine, forming a loop with trails being built on the far side of the creek.

A broad green space in between two turf soccer fields could be used to host festivals or even cricket matches.

“It is a large project,” said Neufeld.

It also won’t be built all at once.

Once a design is approved by the Township council, it will take about 10 years and be completed in roughly nine or 10 phases, said Neufeld.

The budget for the project is estimated at more than $20 million, with about half of that coming from development cost charges paid by builders.

The other half will have to come from general tax revenue.

“It’s definitely a requirement in that area,” said Neufeld, as the population in the northern Willoughby area rises.

 



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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