How was this location chosen?
The Reimagine Beddington Committee and the City of Calgary collaborated to choose the location. It will be built behind the Beddington Theatre Arts Centre (375 Bermuda Dr. NW.) The garden will be built on the site of the south rink and the north rink will remain a leisure rink.
This was the best location due to:
- Central location with lots of parking
- Safety and security for the community garden with the building being on the same site
- Water service exists on site and Parks has run the irrigation lines to service the community garden
- Visibility to Beddington Blvd which is the lifeline of Beddington
- Ongoing partnership with Storybook Theatre to revitalize the outdoor space
- Proximity to schools and other outdoor amenities which will make this a hub of Beddington
- The site does not directly back onto any homes so there would be minimal impact to homeowner
What community engagement was done?
- Two Open House information sessions were held in Fall 2021 with opportunity for Q&A
- Survey that went out March/April 2021 with a 98% approval
- Facebook (1254 followers + survey link was posted to a community group with 2500 followers) and Twitter (945 followers) pages
- Bold signs advertising the survey
- Beddington Banner - 4550 households. Although the survey was missed in the banner due to timing it has mentioned the community garden several times.
- BHCA website posts
- Previous community engagements listed a community garden and a gathering space in the 5 of what residents wanted to have
What will happen to the skating rink?
There will still be skating! Because there are two skating rinks at this location, only one of them will be utilized for the Community Garden.
Why did you choose the oval rink for the Community Garden?
The other rink was not available. The Beddington Theatre Arts Centre will be using the pleasure rink side for summer outdoor programming. This also leaves the pleasure side open for summer basketball & other activities. This site is visible from Beddington Blvd. which will organically generate traffic, interest and mitigate security concerns.
No hockey is allowed on these pleasure rinks but there is an excellent boarded rink for hockey in nearby Sandstone and another rink in Hidden Valley.
