Clover Point in Victora could soon be getting a makeover.
The City of Victoria is proposing plans to transform the parking lot loop at Clover Point into a pedestrian green space.
The plans include multiple wheelchair accessible picnic tables, yellow loungers, a small festival space, room for food trucks and the grey pavement will be refreshed with paint.
“We’re aren’t getting rid of the road, all we’re proposing to do is to turn the whole loop, which has been closed for the last two years, into a waterfront picnic area,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps.
The city’s plan also includes taking away a total of 73 parking spots — with the existing 90 spaces removed and replaced by 17 new spaces closer to the road.
“I’d love to rename it ‘Picnic Point,'” said Helps. “This is the final piece of a seamless waterfront feature.”
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However, the loss of waterfront parking is proving worrisome for some people with mobility concerns, like seniors and people with disabilities.
“If you park anywhere else on Dallas Road, it is not safe for people that use walkers and wheelchairs to get out of a car safely, without almost getting hit,” said Sheenagh Morrison, a Victoria resident, currently on disability.
Sheenagh, a Special Olympics athlete, doesn’t need the close access but says many of her friends do.
The city’s plan does include four accessibility parking spaces right next to the water, but she worries these aren’t enough.
“I think they need more,” said Sheenagh. “The whole disability community is huge in Victoria, as I’ve said I know a lot of people with mobility issues.”
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But the mayor says there will also be a drop off zone to help those who need to use a wheelchair lift installed in a vehicle.
Helps says in this pandemic, people need more open, outdoor spaces, and this is a relatively inexpensive way to do it as it’s not completely ripping up the asphalt.
“The long-term plan at Clover Point will probably to create an actual park, not a green space with some pavement in it, but for $250,000, we’re going to have a spectacular space,” said the mayor.
Council is set to vote on the idea on Thursday, and if approved, the park should be ready to use by this Summer.
Rebecca Lawrence
