Key Design Qualities - All Phases

The Casablanca Waterfront Park improvements will focus on the craft of the details and the vibrancy of spaces by focusing on the following design principles:

1. Accessibility:

• Park will contain fully accessible, barrier-free options within plaza spaces, play areas, and amenities
• AODA compliant and inclusive
• Good connections between adjacent land use and access to the park
• Easy to navigate the entire park space
• The main pathway will be fully accessible (slopes no greater than 5%)
• Accessible beach options and access
• Improved Park lighting for the safety and security of users
• Site furniture will be fully accessible, and AODA compliment
• Park features designed in accordance with the AODA Integrated Accessibility Standards
• Access to the waterfront and lake edge
• Access to public transit
• All Park signage will be fully inclusive and comply with AODA standards

2. Comfort and Image:

• User comfort: shade, wind, microclimate, seasonality, park lighting (safety), flexible open lawn spaces
• Park is comfortable in all seasons
• The Interior of the park space is visible from the outside (perceptions of safety)
• Park is safe
• Cleanliness and good first impression
• Are people taking photos? Numerous photo opportunities
• Availability and choices for places to sit, rest and relax (sun, shade)
• Good connection between Phases
• Topography and circulation
• Park thought of as a whole (one connected space)
• Sense of place, experience, and welcoming
• Public art opportunities
• Access to the shoreline and waters edges
• Environmental features
• Materiality: natural elements, materiality, look, feel, function (stormwater), planting (Carolinian species)
• Prioritize pedestrians and the public realm
• Intangible experiences contribute to a profoundly uplifting effect on our collective and individual psyches and make users return to the Park over and over again

3. Activity Engagement:

• Activities are the building blocks of great places. They are one of the reasons why people will visit the Park initially and often return. They make the Park a special and unique place.
• The more activities people can participate in, the better (variety)
• Active and passive programming
• Variety of experiences (day, season)
• Flexibility in spaces
• Evolution in the future (are the spaces naturally allowed to evolve? Woodlots, etc.)
• Unique features (play spaces, public art, signage, pavilions, etc.)
• Equity and Inclusion: amenities for cultural activities (food trucks, markets, pop-up shops), support diversity, visible wayfinding (graphics and signage), design for differing abilities, public space as a storyteller (public art), educational opportunities
• Open plaza spaces provide many community opportunities from farmers' markets, food trucks, concerts and dances, and yoga and fitness classes — all promoting various aspects of social gathering and mental unwinding.

4. Sociability:

• Adding amenities and programmed activities to spaces brings people to the Park
• Attracting more people (and a variety of people) and having them spend time in a space beyond simply moving through a space to reach a destination creates a rich and vibrant environment to enjoy and interact with each other and provides the opportunity to meet different people, enhancing social tolerance and learning
• Ecological stewardship
• Community ownership of the Park (i.e., do people tend to pick up trash when they see it?
• Is the Park a place where you would choose to meet your friends?
• Are people in groups? COVID-19? Opportunities to distance?
• Do people use the space regularly by choice?
• Does a mix of ages and ethnic groups that generally reflect the community at large?

5. Nature and Environment:

• Preserve and enhance the existing natural environment
• Woodlot clean-up and removal of invasive species
• Protect natural resources and ecosystems (lake, creek)
• Permeable paving
• Solar options for lighting and other park amenities
• Planting of native species
• Introduce pollinator gardens
• Improve storm water collection
• Green infrastructure initiatives such as potential green roof on the washroom building
• Reduce urban heat island effect
• Designing places for physical activity (running, play structures)
• Focus on mental health benefits in parks and nature (walking, relaxation, inspire happiness, reduce stress, etc.)
• Create places for users of all ages and abilities to play and be outside
• Enhance wildlife habitat
• Provide educational opportunities where feasible (signage, events, etc.)