Help shape the future of Millwood Park and Carlyle Park

Last fall, we hosted an open house for Millwood and Carlyle Park. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Open House on Nov. 21, 2023, and provided their feedback on the design options.

For a detailed report on what we heard from community members at the open house and online, please read the summary: 2023 What We Heard Report

Common Themes

• Open Space: We heard about the importance of having open space for play.
• Trails: You expressed how important the trail systems are for connections.
• Connection to nature: You appreciate the natural feel of the parks. You would prefer to have current trees preserved.

Design Ideas

We also heard ideas of what you want to be incorporated into designs for the stormwater pond and the park. You would like the design to include:

• “Include more seating”
• “More natural elements such as rocks and natural play areas in Millwood Park”
• “Improve play equipment in Carlyle Park”
• “Plant more trees for natural shade”
• “Make the trail system more accessible. Possible trails around the pond.”

Frequently Asked Questions updated

Thanks for all the questions you have shared with us. We have added responses to new questions in the Frequently Asked Questions section

Next Steps

Thank you for your patience as we develop a park design based on City staff and your feedback. We look forward to hosting a project open house this year once the designs are ready.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to be notified about future events. Add your email to the Stay Informed section of this page and click ‘Subscribe’.

If you have any questions, contact us at millwoodcarlylepark@kitchener.ca.

Some of you have asked, “What more can be done in our neighbourhood to reduce the amount of runoff that reaches the park/creek?”

As you know, we are working to better manage runoff in Lower Schneider Creek with a stormwater project in Millwood Park. Meanwhile, our partner Reep Green Solutions, can help residents who live upstream from the project manage rain and reduce runoff that reaches the park.

The Rain Smart Neighbourhoods Project helps you plan projects for your yard that will help reduce flood risk in the neighbourhood by planting more trees, building rain gardens, soaking up rain in permeable paving, and more.

This spring, join Reep’s Healthy Yard Webinar Series to learn how you can make changes in your yard that will improve the nature in your neighbourhood and extend the benefits of this project! You can also learn more about Healthy Yard Consultations, available to residents who want to help reduce flood risk for the neighbourhood with actions in their own yard.

Register for the webinar series at reepgreen.ca/events

Webinars include:

• Healthy Yards: Nurture Nature in Your Neighbourhood - March 28, 2024 from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Healthy Yards: Rain Garden Design and Construction - April 3, 2024 from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Healthy Yards: Nurture Nature in Your Neighbourhood - April 10, 2024 from 7 to 8 p.m.

We are completing a topographic survey at Carlyle Park. We are also surveying the trails at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School. This will help us better understand the site conditions and inform our design work. Weather permitting, we have scheduled this work between January 31st and February 2nd.

See you at the open house

We are looking forward to seeing you today at the Help shape the future of Millwood Park and Carlyle Park open house!

Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pioneer Park Public School (55 Upper Canada Drive, Kitchener). Learn about the project, see the designs your feedback has shaped, and share your ideas for the next design stage.

Short presentations are at 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Please drop in any time. We will provide dinner and children’s activities.

We want to hear from you

Whether you can attend or not, we want your feedback! Check out the poster boards and tell us what you think. You can find the poster boards here. They include:

• Project details, including project background and what we heard from the spring survey
• Three design options for Millwood Park
• Play options for Carlyle Park

Please fill in our survey so we can hear what you think about the design options. Answer the survey here.

November 21, 2023

5 to 8 p.m.

Pioneer Park Public School in the gym (55 Upper Canada Drive, Kitchener)

Please register

We are looking for ways to improve water quality and reduce flood risks through stormwater measures at Millwood Park. After consultation with the community this spring, we have prepared concept designs for the stormwater measures.

We are also looking to update and expand the playground at Carlyle Park. We would love to hear feedback on how you use Carlyle Park.

About the open house:

• Learn more about the stormwater project at Millwood Park and review design options. We will share several designs for stormwater measures based on your feedback.
• Provide input into playground features and updates at Carlyle Park.
• Drop in anytime! Staff and consultants will be available to receive your feedback and answer questions. There will be short presentations at 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
• Reep Green Solutions will be on hand to share information about changes you can make in your yard to make Pioneer Park a Rain Smart Neighbourhood.
• We will have children’s activities and child-minding.
• Free vegetarian chili bar provided by Aandanjige Café.

If you can't attend this in-person event, you can participate virtually. We will post materials on this webpage for you to review and comment on closer to the event.

This project was approved by the Ministry of the Environment in 2016 as part of the Integrated Stormwater Management Master Plan (ISWM-MP). If community consultations lead to required project modifications, we will seek to amend the relevant planning tools -- in this case, the Class Environmental Assessment, under which the ISWM-MP was completed.

It has been a while since we provided a project update. We slowed down our design process to better listen to your feedback. Thank you for your patience as we find a design solution to reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and meet the community's needs.

Your input from the survey is being used to inform initial conceptual designs. These designs will be shared at our first project open house on November 21 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pioneer Park Public School. We would love for you to join us!

Learn more and register for the open house

In January 2023, we invited you to complete a survey to help us better understand how you use Millwood Park and Carlyle Park. Thank you to all who participated and gave their input.

For a detailed report on what we heard from community members at the park and online, please read the summary: Winter 2023 What We Heard Report.

We received 55 survey responses. Thanks for sharing your input! Here are some common themes in you shared:

You described the parks as:

• “A place to play sports and spend time with the whole family”
• “A lovely space of calm, nature and fun”
• “Trail system is essential”

You feel comfortable and safe in these parks:

• “We are constantly in the park, year-round”
• “The parks are full of families”
• “Clean and calm, has good visibility”

You have ideas for changes to the parks, including:

• “Pretty lame playground”
• “Millwood Park needs an upgraded walking path”
• “Lack of seating and shade. More trees could be planted”
• “In spring, the green area is wet and spongy”

Your input from the survey is being used to inform initial conceptual designs. These designs will be shared at our first project open house on November 21 from 5-8 p.m. at Pioneer Park Public School. Learn more and register

We are upgrading the park amenities and adding stormwater measures to Millwood and Carlyle Park. We want to hear from you to understand better how to balance the addition of stormwater measures with other park improvements.

Answer our survey and tell us:

• How you are using Millwood Park and Carlyle Park now
• How you might like to use the park in future
• What features are most important to you.

We are still determining what will be improved within Millwood Park and Carlyle Park in addition to the new stormwater facility. We are looking for what general direction to head in, so our preliminary concept designs are relevant to you. You will get to consider those drafts and share your feedback when they are ready later in 2023.

Answer the survey