London, Ontario, July 27, 2011 – The renewal of Medway Park is complete and today, federal, provincial and municipal representatives joined residents to celebrate its refreshed look and enjoy the updated amenities.
Located in the West London community of White Hills, Medway Park is the primary green space in this area and provides families with free recreation activities year-round. Improvements to the park include the installation of a spray pad, skate park and new playground equipment. Park grounds were also rehabilitated, including the toboggan hill, pathways, benches and shaded areas. This redevelopment provides residents and visitors with a more enjoyable and energizing public space, and encourages a healthy, active lifestyle.
“Infrastructure improvements that help our communities stay active, healthy and happy are just as important as roads and bridges,” said Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London-West, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. “The Government of Canada is proud to have contributed to the renewal of Medway Park, a project that has boosted the local economy, created jobs, improved the park for local children and made this green space a more enjoyable place to be for London families.”
"By investing in economic development here in London, we are creating jobs our families can count on for generations to come,” said the Honourable Chris Bentley, Member of Provincial Parliament for London West.
Mayor Fontana is very pleased with the improvements that have been made at the park. He says, “Medway District Park is a great outdoor space. This is where we hear the shouts and laughter of our children as they run and play and where we gather as a community to enjoy an enviable quality of life. This redevelopment has added more trees, so there will be more shade, and added benches so we can sit in that shade. We have more pathways to walk and a better toboggan hill for when the snow arrives. The park has been given a great facelift and this new look clearly illustrates the benefits of the partnership and cooperation between three levels of government. London’s green spaces are vital to our health and well being. Enjoy!”
The governments of Canada and Ontario have each committed over $316,000 towards the eligible cost of this project. The City of London is contributing the balance of the total eligible project cost of $950,000. The Kiwanis Club of Forest City London donated $33,000 for further enhancements to the new skate park. In addition, the City of London contributed $609,000 towards adjustments to the internal road network and parking around the arena and aquatic centre.
Federal funding for this project comes from the Government of Canada’s $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, which is providing funding to over 4,100 infrastructure projects across the country.
In June, Ontario had an increase of 40,000 jobs and the unemployment rate declined to 7.7 per cent.
For additional information about investments in infrastructure, visit www.creatingjobs.gc.ca.
For further information about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
For more information on how Ontario is revitalizing its infrastructure, visit ontario.ca/infrastructure.
Contacts:
Vanessa Schneider
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Office of Member of Provincial Parliament Bentley
519-657-3120
Tara Thomas
Communications Specialist
City of London
519-661-2500 ext 7326
Infrastructure Canada
613-948-1148 or toll-free 1-877-250-7154
