VICTORIA -- The City of Victoria is seeking the public's input on park expansions to Peter Pollen Waterfront Park, formerly known as Laurel Point Park.
The harbourside park was renamed in October 2019 in honour of the former Victoria mayor who established the area as a park during his second term as mayor in 1975.
Pollen would go on to serve four terms as mayor from 1971 to 1975, and again from 1981 to 1985. The former city councillor worked to maintain downtown Victoria's natural beauty, and Pollen's family says he described the inner harbour as a jewel of Victoria.
Recently, the park was expanded into a total of three acres thanks to land transferred to the city from the federal government.
Now the city is asking residents to lend their input on what should be prioritized on the new land. A number of options have been proposed, including a focus on supporting recreation and play, acknowledging Indigenous connections to the land, strengthening pedestrian connectivity within the site and more.
The city is collecting feedback through an online survey, but welcomes new park expansions ideas as well.
The city's survey on Peter Pollen Waterfront Park can be found online here.
"A lot of the way the city looks and feels today is due to Peter Pollen and the work he did when he was mayor," Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said when the park's renaming was first announced in October.
"I can picture families down here picnicking on the waterfront and I think that fits with what Peter would have wanted as well."
