Skip to content

Group working on new plan for Williamson’s Lake

A bigger beach, new-and-improved playground and annual environmental monitoring are just a few of the proposals being considered by a new committee that is looking at the future of Williamson’s Lake Park.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
One of the suggested plans for Williamson’s Lake is to expand the beach area.

A bigger beach, new-and-improved playground and annual environmental monitoring are just a few of the proposals being considered by a new committee that is looking at the future of Williamson’s Lake Park.

The committee consists of members of Rotary, the Rod and Gun Club, Early Childhood Development Committee and the City of Revelstoke’s parks’ department.

“We feel it’s a valuable jewel for this city and because we built it we ask that we become part of it again,” said Rotarian Jacquie Olsen at a meeting of the committee on August 10.

The Rod and Gun Club’s involvement stems from its decision a few years to stock the lake with trout for a family fishing day, said the club’s president Gary Krestinsky.

So, what is the committee looking at? At a meeting on Aug. 10 they tossed around a bunch of ideas of improvements they’d like to make to the park.

The most prominent one would be cutting back the bank and building a retaining wall in order to create a larger beach. That project would also include creating wheelchair-friendly access to the beach.

There was also talk about creating a kiosk with information about the park such as the attributes of the lake and the wildlife that makes use of the area.

Krestinsky mentioned a fish cleaning station separated from the swimming area and annual water monitoring. Olsen said Rotary would like to establish a picnic shelter for people to use. Meanwhile, the Early Childhood Development committee is looking at building a new playground in the park.

As was emphasized during the meeting, these discussions are preliminary. The group is working on prioritizing the changes and will eventually look at costs. A public meeting would be held when plans are more finalized.