New regional park approved by council

Halifax Regional Council unanimously approved a plan to create a new Regional Park. The Western Common Wilderness Common Master Plan calls for a new Regional Park to be created over the next several decades in an area primarily in the western half of HRM owned lands.

The Western Common Wilderness Common - which extends from Hwy 103 to the north, Prospect Road to the south, and Nine Mile River to the west -
is approximately 1600 hectares. That's about twenty times the size of
Point Pleasant Park. It includes seven lakes, extensive rivers and
streams, historical trails, special habitats and culturally significant
resources. A citizen advisory committee developed a working five-phase
plan for the area for between now and 2030 that includes plans to build
trails and canoe routes, as well as an area for supervised swimming.

Councillor Reg Rankin, who praised the committee for their commitment
and hard work in bringing the plan about, is effusive in his support for
the new park.

"The Western Commons is a jewel in our crown of HRM parks. It is a
masterpiece of wilderness and last night's decision means its beauty
will be preserved for all to enjoy, for future generations. We got it
right," he said.

The Western Common was originally reserved for water supply to the
former City of Halifax. Beginning in the 1950s, lakes in the area
provided the backup water supply to the City of Halifax. When the
Pockwock water supply was established in the late 1970s, the lakes and
associated lands were transferred to the City of Halifax. They then
became the property of HRM upon amalgamation.