The City of Kamloops says a majority of upgrades to Riverside Park downtown will be complete this summer.

The $5.1 million project includes flood-mitigation work, the demolition of the old concession and washroom buildings, a new change room and washroom, as well as the addition of a new spray park – which won’t be ready for this summer because of supply chain issues.

“The exact date [when we open] is to be determined when we’ll actually open it up to the public,” Capital Projects Supervisor Ryan Maalerud said. “It depends on a few different factors.”

“The flood protection work is complete but in the rest of the park, there is work on the splash park going on for example, and there are a few other components to the project that are still ongoing.”

Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says new private dykes in Riverside Park and on McArthur Island will ensure both facilities are protected to a one-in-20-year flood events.

“I think the project at Riverside Park is a perfect example of what was at its core a flood protection project to protect critical infrastructure in the park, sewer in particular, but really if you are down there, once that park opens up, it is going to be an incredible amenity for the City,” Wightman said.

“I don’t think anyone is going to look at that and go, ‘oh, this was done to build flood protection.'”

The dike looks like a three-to-four-metre-wide path that was built 1.5 metres higher than the previous one with a gentle grade towards the Sandman Centre parking lot. Fences and lighting will complete the new pathway with that work still underway as of this week.

“We’re incorporating all sorts of elements into that project to increase accessibility and to have a wider multi-use path throughout the park. We were able to do all of this and protect all the trees there as well, which is really important to us for fish habitat, and obviously the value of the trees,” Wightman added.

“It is complex for sure when you try and take a project that is intended to keep water out of an area and try and make it an amenity at the end.”

Should there be a more severe flood, Wightman says the new dikes will make it easier for City crews to install and take down Hesco baskets, noting there will be minimal restoration work required when it is removed.

“We built that project and that dike, that pathway to a road standard, so we can drive equipment up and down that asphalt pathway and deploy temporary flood protections measures to get us protected to a higher level,” he said.

Asked if flood concerns this year could lead to further delays with construction, Maalerud said it shouldn’t.

“At this point, we don’t anticipate it, of course if the water does come up and over, it will have a small impact,” he said. “It might slow down the restoration. If we get flooded out obviously it is going to delay when we can come put new grass down.”

Plans to build the first fully accessible playground in Kamloops in Riverside Park are also moving ahead, with an expected completion date sometime this fall. It will be build next to the existing play structure in Riverside Park.

“We believe people with disabilities should get to control their environment, be it spinning, swinging, swaying and we try to integrate that as much as possible,” Jill Moore, a wheelchair athlete who aids product development with Landscape Structures (the playground vendor), said, in a statement.

“People with disabilities are active players, and an inclusive environment is going to showcase everything we can bring to the table when we’re invited. Riverside Park is truly a place for everyone.”

Maalerud also said Canada Day celebrations at Riverside Park will look similar to years past, though he notes it will be over a smaller area, given the ongoing work.

“We’ve been working with those folks recently and its going to look fairly similar to what we’ve seen in the past, which is exciting,” he said. “A little bit smaller footprint but it is going to be exciting to have people back down here for Canada Day.”

Other Riverside Park staples like Music in the Park, Ribfest, the Seniors’ Picnic, and the Busker’s Festival are also set to return after a COVID-19 related hiatus over the past two summers.