Cleanup and restoration in Riverside Park in Kamloops is only about one-third of the way done, after the park was barricaded for weeks to protect from flooding.
Utility services manager Greg Wightman says restoration should be done by the end of September.
“At this stage we’re about one-third of the way through our cleanup and restoration at Riverside Park. We’ve essentially got from the water park to the pier completed. In that section we had to put down soil and sod just because of how high traffic it is. That section is done, we’re now working from the pier west down to Uji Gardens.”
After that, Wightman says the last phase will be to do restoration from the park’s concession to the Sandman Centre parking lot.
Despite the amount of work, he says there shouldn’t be much disruption for park users.
“We’re just asking for cooperation down there. Obviously it’s not ideal to have heavy construction equipment in a park like Riverside that’s utilized so much by our community, and utilized throughout these months while we’re doing this work. So just be aware that there is equipment down there. Certainly if you have children, be aware of that, our crews down there.”
Wightman says the cost for the city will probably be between $70,000 and $75,000, pointing out that is only a preliminary estimate.
He says the total cost for flood protection is hundreds of thousand dollars, but says the province covers most of that. Those costs include renting, installing and taking down Hesko sand baskets, among other things.
“Significantly less than 2012. I believe 2012 was well over $100,000,” Wightman says, referencing the city’s costs the last time it had to protect Riverside Park from flooding. “But still a big cost for sure, and something we’re trying to avoid by coming up with a permanent solution at that part, so we don’t have to spend money on restoration every time we put those devices out.”
Council voted earlier this month to go ahead with a project to help protect Riverside Park from flooding, by raising part of the Rivers Trail and installing rip rap rock along part of the shoreline.
That work will cost $1.5 million, and at least $800,000 will be covered by grant funding. The city is hoping to receive another grant of $750,000 to pay the rest of it. A start date for the project has not been determined.