Clinton’s Elliott Park will soon be getting some new and improved amenities and features, thanks to a $250,000 tourism infrastructure grant from the province.
The work at Elliott Park is one of 10 projects across the Cariboo-Chilcotin that will benefit from $5.5 million in funding from the province’s Destination Development Fund. The program is aimed at enhancing existing tourism infrastructure throughout the province, fostering globally competitive destinations, strengthening a year-round visitor economy, and supporting sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion.
“The variety of the 10 projects supported by today’s funding announcement showcase the incredible tourism opportunities across the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast: everything from Indigenous cultural events to cross country skiing to backcountry trails to the incredible history of Barkerville,” says Amy Thacker, CEO of Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism.
“Our entire region and communities will see the benefit of these investments in enhancing the visitor opportunities that draw people to the land without limits.”
Murray Daly, Clinton’s chief administrative officer, says that the improvements planned for Elliott Park, which is on Kelly Lake Road west of town, will help to make the park more attractive and inviting for residents and visitors.
“Elliott Park is a good asset for the community, but it’s under-utilized, and we want to get some development there and use it more,” he says. The park currently contains two baseball diamonds and a washroom facility, and in 2022 the village’s new public works building was constructed there.
When the village finished developing its parks and trails master plan, a working group was formed to look at the ideas that came out of the plan.
“A walking trail around the perimeter of the park was one idea, because it’s flat, and an easy place for folks to walk,” Daly explains. The walking path is one of the improvements that will be funded by the grant, and another is to take the ball diamonds from two to just one, then make improvements to the remaining diamond.
“We want to develop the one on the west side of the park that gets the most use, which will include re-doing the dugouts and making improvements to the infield and outfield.” The washrooms at the park near that diamond will also be improved to increase accessibility.
Daly says that an exciting addition to the park will be a pump track in the southwest corner of the site.
“A pump track is a mountain bike track that targets the 8-to-15 age group, although anyone can use it,” Daly explains. “We’ve located a manufactured track piece made out of recycled plastic that has dips and hills, and we’ll build around that by putting in some dirt trails and ramps.
“It won’t be too crazy, because we don’t want something that’s too out there, but it will have some moguls and turns for skills development. Pump tracks are very popular.”
“A critical part of our mission at the local tourism association is destination development, which is all about helping operators provide compelling experiences, quality infrastructure, and remarkable services that encourage visitors to come back again and again,” said Andre Kuerbis, chair of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association board.
“This funding from the B.C. Government is a welcome enhancement to the incredible experience we offer the travelling public here in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast.”
Daly says that the work at Elliott Park is a “pretty big” undertaking for the village that will be done step by step.
“We don’t know what we’ll tackle first. We’re waiting for the bike park piece to arrive, and the work will be done in stages. It will be a big face-lift for the park.”
Work on the improvements is scheduled to start in June 2023, with a completion date of 2024.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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