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Crawford Hill, a potential new park for Creston

The town of Creston is exploring options to open 8.5 acres of green space to the public.

Chief Administrative Officer Mike Moore set his sights on the old reservoir land on Crawford Hill.

“The vast majority of the sight are these vast open reservoirs that are just sitting here empty. Just the natural beauty of it, you walk around, the grass is growing up.” Moore took both Council and the Mycrestonnow.com newsroom on separate tours of the sight. “We still have to do some maintenance here and we have these natural trails all the way around the property. There isn’t really any other potential use for the property so we looked at it [asking if] is there an opportunity to maybe open it up as a public space.”

By simply closing a valve, the natural flow of water and spring run off could potentially create a pond for wildlife to flourish in. But Moore says he wants to do it in small increments. The Municipal Insurance Association BC would also take a look to ensure public safety.

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“Probably the next, and most important step is a little bit of community consultation. We look at the land and say what can we do with it, and then there’s all these limitations on what you can actually do with it. We would certainly not want to consult the public, but to consult the neighbourhood as well.

Should the project move forward, the town will involve the municipal insurance association BC to ensure public safety. Another 2 acres of land, further up Crawford Hill, is owned by the RDCK. Not only could it potentially connect to even more trails, Moore says there is potential for partnerships with service organizations for long term park development.

Idlewild park in Cranbrook is also also features a reclaimed reservoir which was decommissioned in 1975. The RDCK land above Crawford Hill holds the Erickson Reservoir which was emptied last year. The two open reservoirs on Town of Creston property last held water in 2005.

Should the Town move forward with the project, signage and concrete barricades would be erected for public safety. Parking is another factor. Moore says the cost may be as little as $20,000 to replace fencing and securing old municipal features which are off limits.

 

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