FAQs

The Millwood Park neighbourhood is part of the urban water cycle. Stormwater from your neighbourhood flows to Schneider Creek and into the Grand River. Rain and meltwater wash pollutants from roads into local waterways. Heavy rains drain into creeks at high volumes, causing soil erosion.

By adding a stormwater feature to Millwood Park, we slow and filter stormwater. This improves water quality and prevents flood risks.

This work has become more urgent because of climate change. More frequent and more intense storms are expected in the future. Stormwater upgrades will help mitigate the severity of future flooding. We are making similar improvements in locations across Kitchener.

The stormwater feature is proposed for outside of the natural area and will drain into existing storm pipes. There should be no impacts on the natural area.

We have yet to confirm details of the stormwater facility. We don't yet know pond location, size and design details. We will develop these details through the design process. We'll share design proposals with the public for review and comments at various stages. Plans may change considerably throughout the design process.  

Safety is a key factor in the way we design stormwater management ponds. We apply Provincial and Municipal safety standards.

Some safety measures include:

• signage
• buffer zones
• railings, and
• natural planting barriers   

We are still early in the design process and haven’t confirmed the location, size, or type of stormwater facility. It is possible that we will need to remove or relocate the ball field backstop at Millwood Park. In a future engagement phase, we will work with the community on details of how to reinvest in play at these parks. We will provide initial concepts for stormwater improvements at an open house in November 2023. Watch for future meetings to discuss plans. Please subscribe to the project's Engage page to receive project updates.

Ponds like the one proposed at Millwood Park are not designed to be aerated by fountains. For this reason, there will not be a fountain in this pond.

Mosquitoes

We design stormwater ponds to avoid creating pools of shallow, stagnant water where mosquitoes like to breed. We add native plants within and around ponds, too. These create habitat for natural predators such as bats, birds and frogs. The native plants also support pollinator insects like butterflies and native bees. 

Geese

The native plantings we use make it difficult for geese to enter stormwater ponds. We also use raptor poles to welcome birds like hawks who are natural predators of geese.  

In Fall 2022 we conducted drilling at the park to assess the groundwater table and the soil conditions on site. Pond design would take into account current condition information. A pond will not negatively impact groundwater levels.

The development of recommended alternatives for each project was completed as part of the City’s Integrated Stormwater Master Plan. That report is available on Kitchener’s website.

In 2015, we consulted the public about the Stormwater Management Master Plan. We consulted city-wide rather than taking a park-by-park approach. Since 2015 our approach to engagement has evolved and improved. We are committed to inclusive and equitable community engagement. 

In early August 2022, we sent postcards to people living next to the park and placed signs within the park. We aimed to inform park and trail users and immediate neighbours of this project well before the project's design phase. Our outreach will be more expansive as we begin our design process for the pond. As the project progresses, we will mail public meeting invitations within a broader neighbourhood area. We will seek neighbourhood input to better integrate the new stormwater pond into the park. We will use this Engage page, social media ads, and mailouts to share news about engagement opportunities.

The City is currently updating its 2010 Parks Strategic Plan. Our new plan is called Places and Spaces: Kitchener's park and open space strategy. This plan will help direct how we use and update parks in the future. The Places and Spaces strategy will address many themes in parks, such as:

• principles of design (e.g. equity, accessibility)
• environment & ecology (e.g. habitat, stormwater management, and climate change)
• specific infrastructure planning (e.g. playgrounds, sportsfields, pets in parks).

The Places and Spaces strategy is scheduled to be brought forward in 2024.

Off-Leash Dog Areas

Once the Places and Spaces strategy is adopted, we will look for opportunities to add new features in parks across Kitchener. These features could include off-leash dog areas. We will explore opportunities in all neighbourhoods. We will engage with local communities around any future park updates.

Splash Pads

The City usually puts splash pads at community centres and legacy parks, like Victoria Park. These locations have the infrastructure to support a splash pad, such as parking, washrooms, and servicing.

We advertise engagement opportunities in a wide variety of ways depending on the project or initiative, using approaches that are appropriate and accessible for the residents most affected by the issue. Some projects, like construction or development projects, also have specific requirements they must follow (example: sending letters to affected residents). 

Here are some ways to stay informed about engagement opportunities:

• Register for a free Engage Kitchener account to get notifications of new opportunities on that site 
• If you have a free My Kitchener account, add the “Engagement opportunities” widget to get those same notifications 
• Subscribe to the public consultations newsfeed and the calendar on the City's website to get notifications about in-person or virtual public meetings

We are committed to inclusive and equitable community engagement.  Our focus is on eliminating barriers from the participation process, ensuring those who are most affected are actively included, measuring our progress through demographic data collection, and committing to ongoing relationship-building and engagement.  We use a wide variety of approaches for engaging the broader community, selecting techniques based on the specifics of the issue or project at hand. For more information, please read our Community Engagement Policy.

In 2016, the City of Kitchener created a Stormwater Master Plan. Through this plan, we learned that 75% of the city has no stormwater treatment or flood controls. The plan identified 12 potential places for new stormwater facilities, including Meadowlane Park. This park was the only suitable place for such a facility in this area of Kitchener. Through the master plan we looked for locations that fit these criteria:

• Larger than 1 hectare
• On publicly owned land
• A nearby storm sewer diameter is bigger than 450 millimetres
• The catchment area is large and doesn't receive water-quality treatment
• The site is not too steep
• The site does not have significant treed areas or wetlands
• Meet Kitchener's water quality criteria

Yes – we will prepare a recorded overview of the design for the next stage of engagement.

Please email or call us if you or a neighbour need to access materials in a different format. We will be happy to help you. You can reach the project manager, Pacifique Nicholas, at 519-741-2345 or millwoodcarlylepark@kitchener.ca  

The fence is needed where there is a steeper slope next to a trail. We have only shown fences where they would be required because of the slope.

Yes, they would need to be replaced every 5 to 10 years

Natural playground equipment is designed to meet all playground safety requirements. It can be designed to be inclusive and accessible. A new and expanded playground area will be included at Carlyle Park. The improvements in Millwood Park will focus on passive recreation. This will include new seating areas, trail upgrades, and pollinator plantings. Opportunities for nature play and exploration at Millwood Park will be informal, such as through the placement tree stumps, logs or low rocks. The existing play equipment will be removed from Millwood Park.

Yes! We want to provide unique park experiences that vary from the other parks in the neighborhood. Park elements will be selected to provide play and programming opportunities that are different than other nearby parks.

The open space area at Millwood Park is not large enough to accommodate a cricket pitch. The sports fields at Carlyle Park will remain as soccer and baseball.

Stairs will not be included within the trail network. Steep slopes on trails will be reduced to improve accessibility.