Temporary garden coming to Coquitlam’s City Centre neighbourhood
City is expected to chop down 50 immature trees north of the Aquatic Complex
Coquitlam is removing roughly 50 immature trees to make space for a temporary community garden.
On Feb. 15, the city announced plans to build a new garden north of the City Centre Aquatic Complex for residents who had their plots of land displaced by Metro Vancouver’s water main project on Pipeline Road.
Kathleen Reinheimer, Coquitlam’s parks manager, said the temporary space at 1210 Pinetree Way is on city-owned land that is going to be developed at some point in the future. The land is currently disturbed and home to a group of alder and cottonwood trees that have self-seeded on the area.
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Although no plans are set in stone, Reinheimer said the land could become a community building or extension for the pool.
“We want to make sure that people don’t think it’s permanent,” Reinheimer said. “But it may be more than 10 or 15 years from now that the lot gets developed. . . . I don’t have a crystal ball, the final use for that land is not known.”
The previous community garden at Town Centre Park was also temporary and ended up lasting roughly one decade before the water main project started.
Community gardens have been tricky to locate within the city, Reinheimer said, as they’re not often the best fit for heavily used parks like Town Centre.
“In terms people being able to grow their own produce, you can imagine that somebody walking by might want to pick up a tomato as well,” she said.
Ideally, Reinheimer said, Coquitlam’s community gardens are placed on sites that are slated for development or within a hydro corridor, like a similar garden on Scott Creek. Unlike the old garden in Town Centre Park, the new garden north of the Aquatic Complex will have fencing to prevent vandals or wildlife from entering.
“Community gardens are always a positive thing in the community,” Reinheimer said. “The most important thing is that people get to know their neighbours and learn, intergenerationally, how to garden as well.”
The tree removal process is expected to take place before Mar. 1, when bird nesting season typically begins.
Construction on the new garden is also expected to begin this month.
Impacted residents should be able to plant their new gardens towards the end of spring.
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