Port Moody youth get a chance to guide city’s park and trail planning

Port Moody’s middle and high school students will get a say in the future of the community’s parks.

On April 16, council greenlit an event at the recreation centre, inviting all students of  École Moody Middle, Port Moody Secondary, and Heritage Woods Secondary to participate in a series of interactive activities which will help guide the decision making of city planners.

Couns. Samantha Agtarap, who has consistently advocated for youth to become more involved in the city’s planning processes, said she hopes the event will serve as a stepping stone to engagement on other topics in the future.

“I’m really excited to see that we’re doing some dedicated outreach,” she said.

The feedback received from the students will apply to four long-term plans currently in development: the Rocky Point Park and Old Orchard Park Master Plans, the Parkland Strategy, and the Trail Network Plan.

Recreation staff and consultants will introduce each one of the four planning projects, answer questions, and set up interactive activities at different stations based on age and interests of the students.

One such activity, for example, will be a design-your-own-park exercise.

“The intent is to make all of these activities hands-on, and also fun for the attendees,” staff said. “That’s quite different from a typical engagement with adults.”

Pizza will also be served.

A summary of the engagement results will be shared with the council following the event, helping them identify potential park improvements, new parks, trail networks and designs.

Couns. Diana Dilworth and Amy Lubik both said they have been impressed with the prior youth engagement on city committees.

“Chairing the Youth Focus Committee has been eye opening for just how tapped-in and thoughtful the youth in Port Moody are,” Lubik said.

These projects have already been engaged with Port Moody’s Youth Focus Committee, as well other youth during open houses and pop-up events.

Council, however, passed a motion in January, 2024, for further engagement to take place regarding park master plans, so the feedback could be integrated into the new official community plan (OCP) update.

Significant delays to the OCP resulting from new provincial housing legislation means this integration is no longer possible, and the event was proposed as an alternative approach.

As the additional engagements were not part of the origin scope of the projects, council was required to fork out $17,500 to cover the cost of materials, as well as staff and consultant time.

The funds will be taken out of the New Initiative Reserve.

Coun. Kyla Knowles, who has frequently voiced concern over the city overdrawing funds from the reserve, said she thought its use in this instance was appropriate.

However, she said she hopes youth engagement on city projects continues to an extent so similar expenses can be worked into the base budget going forward.

“I think it’s a great initiative. We need to get a lot more engagement and communication from our youth on all things Port Moody,” she said. “They’re the ones who are going to be living here long after we are gone.”

Staff said they considered holding separate events at each of the schools, but it would come at a significantly greater cost and the format was meant to maximize efficiency.

Agrtarap raised some concern that students who live in Port Moody but attend schools out of their catchment areas could be missing out on a chance to provide input. She suggested staff put out an announcement through the city’s social media channels.

Staff noted they will also be putting out notices through the youth and recreational programs, as well as through sports groups.

Dilworth suggested that members of the Youth Focus Committee could help the city network the idea at the schools they attend.

“These are kids that have volunteered to sit around a table and provide specific advice,” she said.  “They would probably be amazing ambassadors . . . and could really help drive some of the participation that we need.”