The County of Grande Prairie has been working on the development of a new 20,000-resident community that contains a downtown and future residential development. This development fronts onto Clairmont Lake, which is viewed as a being a key factor to attract people to live and work in the area. V3 was engaged by the County to develop a design seeking to improve the overall health of the lake and its riparian margins, while creating a recreational network that tied into the Clairmont development.
An engagement process with varying stakeholders led to development of a multi-purpose trail system around the lake, with some points extending into the lake. The design included opportunities for a variety of recreational uses, as well as opportunities for future event programming. Included in the design were two portable wharfs to accommodate non-motorized water vehicles, educational signage, public artwork, an off-leash dog park and community garden that was designed to integrate with the surrounding planned and existing communities.
Clairmont Lake is currently very shallow and has been inundated by sediment as a result of runoff from the surrounding farm lands. In addition to creating a multi-purpose trail network, the County was looking at ways to remove the sediment and revitalize the lake, including bringing fish back. To achieve this, the design also incorporated an aeration system into the design.
The final report included estimated construction costs, construction phasing and recommendations on how the plan could be funded by development levies associated with the future build out of the new community.
