Pefferlaw Outdoor Recreation Amenities Improvement

Overview

The Town of Georgina is always working to improve facilities and recreation amenities for our residents. In the fall of 2021, Town staff initiated the Pefferlaw Recreation Needs study to engage Ward 5 residents through two online survey opportunities and one in-person public consultation forum held in November 2021 at the Pefferlaw Lions Hall. As a result of these studies, several upgrades and installations are planned through 2023 and 2024.

Trail expansion and park amenities improvements

The Town will be improving and enhancing the existing pedestrian trail and park amenities in Pefferlaw Park. Work will include the expansion of the existing pedestrian trail to create an active walking loop with outdoor fitness stations positioned around the trail. The design will focus on expanding the existing limestone screening trail network while connecting all new recreation facilities together into one cohesive park design. Construction for the trail improvements is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Pump Track and Skatepark

Construction began the week of Aug. 21, 2023 on the new pump track and skatepark in Pefferlaw Park. It will be located southeast of the Pefferlaw Ice Pad and Sports Zone. The facility will be open to the public in July.

The design includes features for users of all skill levels, including those who are new to the sport. Users requested a larger pump track with a variety of riding options and directions. It will feature an expanded concrete skatepark and a junior loop off the main pump track.

The Pefferlaw Pump Track and Skatepark was designed to meet the Town of Georgina's Facility Accessibility Design Standards (2017). It will increase opportunities for accessibility in outdoor spaces for disabled youth and adults in the community. A pump track is a circuit of rolls, banked turns and features designed to be ridden by users through a “pumping” technique—generating momentum by up and down body movements (i.e. not pedaling or pushing). This flowing terrain is accessible to all ability levels (including beginner riders, disabled riders) and provides an exciting user experience for skateboarders, bikes, scooters, roller bladers, and sports wheelchairs. The design includes a dedicated junior track off the main track to provide an opportunity for users of all abilities to enjoy the sport.

The project includes new accessible site furnishings for spectators, as well as improvements to the recreational trail system for park users. The Town is renovating the park washrooms to provide barrier-free access including installing two accessible automatic doors and a ramp. The park is currently served by a washroom facility that is wheelchair inaccessible. Renovations will be completed in June.

The concrete skatepark is complete, the granular base for the north end of the track and start deck is complete, and a new security system with eight cameras has been installed. Paving and substantial completion has been delayed to June 2024 due to weather conditions and the temperatures required for the installation of the asphalt for the pump track.

Pefferlaw Park is an ideal location for the pump track and skatepark as it is centrally located in Pefferlaw, highly visible, and is frequently visited by youth. With limited recreation opportunities for youth in Pefferlaw, this new facility will serve as an exciting central hub for youth in the eastern limits of Georgina.

View the rendering.

Update to Council on Pefferlaw Pump Track and Skatepark, Nov. 8, 2023

Community Garden

The Town worked with the Georgina-Brock Garden Club and the Pefferlaw Association of Ratepayers (PAR) since late 2022 to develop designs for a community garden in Pefferlaw. Barrier-free gardening was a consideration throughout the design to provide an opportunity for everyone to garden. The community garden includes a new limestone screening pedestrian pathway, at-grade garden plots, raised cedar garden beds of varying heights (18” and 30”) to accommodate those who have difficulty reaching and bending, a storage shed, a composter, an accessible picnic table/workbench, and two dwarf apple trees.

The Community Garden opened with a ribbon cutting in May 2023.

Sports Zone

The Pefferlaw Sports Zone is scheduled to open May 1, 2024 for all programming, weather permitting.

The new Sports Zone was built on the Pefferlaw Ice Pad at 38 Pete’s Lane, in Pefferlaw. The Sports Zone includes:

  • Colourful athletic tile flooring
  • One outdoor basketball court, two dedicated pickleball courts and one multi-purpose court for pickleball or short-court tennis (not regulation, shorter in length)
  • Facility divider curtains to allow uninterrupted play between courts
  • Facility signage for the Pefferlaw Ice Pad and Sports Zone

The Sports Zone creates new opportunities for outdoor, multi-purpose play in Pefferlaw by encouraging the use of an existing municipal facility during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Sports Zone equipment will be removed by staff seasonally as a refrigerated ice pad and skating rink each winter.

The Sports Zone opened in May 2023.

Recreation Needs Study

2014 Recreation Needs Study

In 2014, Council adopted the Recreation Needs study produced by Monteith Brown Planning Consultants. The key study objectives included facility rationalization, needs assessment and feasibility analysis. More than 40 recommendations were identified in the study while following guiding principles for the Town of Georgina’s future decision-making. 

The guiding principles are: 
  • Build a healthy community and foster active lifestyles. 
  • Provide inclusive, affordable and accessible recreational opportunities for all Georgina residents. 
  • Ensure that recreation and park facilities are multi-use, multi-generational and responsive to true needs. 
  • Encourage design and practices that promote energy efficiency and “green” technologies.
  • Foster and support partnerships that create synergies and leverage resources. 
  • Make decisions that are financially responsible and sustainable for the Town and its residents, both existing and future. 

Photos

Pump track and skatepark progress photos

Left skatepark under construction with truck Right Concrete risers

 

Side by side construction dirt ground and building in background

Pump track and skatepark rendering

Side by side of the rendering of the pump and skate track

Completed Community Garden

side-by-side of community gardens

side-by-side of community gardens boxes

 

Community Garden progress

4 construction pictures side-by-side

Completed Sports Zone

Side by side of the inside of the updated sports zone

Starting conditions - Pefferlaw Ice Pad

outside of the pefferlaw ice pad

3 side by side pictures of the inside of the pefferlaw ice palace with no ice installed

 

Proposed changes

birds eye view of the park at 38 Pete's Lane with comment bubble that states Expand & improve existing limestone Skate Park screening pedestrian trail - Creation of an active walking loop incl. 2-3 outdoor fitness stations - Grading improvements - New accessible site furnishings (benches, picnic tables etc.) - Addition of a new accessible playground feature to existing playground equipment

Public engagement

Contact the following individual for additional information or to provide comments.

Town Contact

Courtney Rennie
Senior Project Manager, Parks and Open Space
Email: crennie@georgina.ca

Timeline

Timeline

  • Upcoming in 2024 – Completion of pump track and skatepark. Expansion to the existing trail system in Pefferlaw Park including new outdoor fitness equipment stations, benches, and picnic tables
  • August 2023 – Construction begins for the pump track and skatepark. Construction to be completed in June 2024
  • May 2023 - The Sports Zone and new facility flooring is complete
  • May 2023 – The Community Garden space is complete
  • April 27, 2022 - Council approved the recommendations presented by staff for a new pump track and skate park, community garden, sports zone at the Pefferlaw Ice Pad, and other improvements to the trail system and other park amenities
  • November 2021 - in-person public consultation forum held at the Pefferlaw Lions Hall.
  • October 2021 - Staff initiated the Pefferlaw Recreation Needs study to engage Ward 5 residents through two online survey opportunities and one in-person public consultation forum.
  • September 2021 - Council approved $1,446,750 in capital funding for recreation improvements in the Ward 5 area.
  • 2020 - Council directed staff to engage the Ward 5 community to study the public needs and wants for recreation facilities, programs and services specific to Ward 5.

Documents

Contact Us

26557 Civic Centre Rd,

Keswick, ON  L4P 3G1

T: 905-476-4301 / 705-437-2210

F: 905-476-8100

info@georgina.ca

Hours of Operation

Monday to Friday

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.