Regional district looks at redesign of Spencer Tuck Regional Park

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The regional district is looking into redesigning a regional park near Chetwynd due to its growing popularity. 

On August 14th, at the Peace River Regional District board of directors meeting, a delegation from Lees + Associates and DWB Consulting Services detailed a redesign study for the Spencer Tuck Regional Park that has been almost a year in the making. 

Located on the shores of Moberly Lake near Chetwynd, the PRRD began collecting public input on a design study to improve the park in October 2024.

In November, the regional district concluded the public input aspect of the project and began compiling a report on the feedback to guide the redesign of the park. 

During the August meeting, principal and landscape architect with Lees + Associates Heidi Redman detailed the completed design study and various upgrade options available for the park. 

One of the primary focuses of the redesign is public parking, with Redman explaining that expanding or improving the parking lot at the park was one of the main priorities.  

Redman explained that observations of various weekends in recent months points to an overflowing parking lot and residents parking along Lakeshore Drive, the road leading to the park.

“The focus is really on improving what’s there and making it better for some of the new trends that we’re seeing in recreational use [of the park],” Redman said. 

“The main footprint that would be expanded, that’s being proposed, is for the parking lot, otherwise the trails [and] picnic area footprint would be the same.” 

If expanded, the parking lot would spill onto a right-of-way next to the park, which would require approval from the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) prior to the start of construction. 

Redman explained the main focuses of the redesign were enhancing accessibility and amenities with an additional outhouse, picnic shelter, changing stalls and expanded parking, as well as improving the condition of the park by implementing stormwater management and resurfacing trails to improve drainage. 

She also detailed specific requests from public feedback, including interpretive trail signage “highlighting local ecology, stewardship and educational opportunities.” 

Another priority of the plan was improving access to Moberly Lake for residents and repairing existing infrastructure. 

Redman recommended repairs to the existing boat launch and suggested the addition of a seasonal swimming dock and kayak launch. 

A high-level estimate by Lees + Associates put the cost of redesigning the park at $841,050. This estimate includes a project contingency budget of $124,600 and $93,450 in design and consulting fees. 

A high-level cost estimate represents Lees + Associates’ “best judgment based on past regional tender returns, professional experience and supplier quotes.” The estimate is not set in stone, and due to the volatile nature of construction prices does not reflect what the project could cost. 

When asked, staff clarified to the board the study and any recommendations from Lees + Associates and DWB Consulting Services were merely suggestions, and no master plan had been established at this time for the future of the park. 

While the board had begun the process of exploring what a redesigned Spencer Tuck Regional Park may look like down the road, the PRRD was not obligated to do more than accept the design study as an option for what the park’s future could be. 

Later in the meeting, the regional board voted to use the design study as a guiding document for future development and Spencer Tuck Regional Park, and to apply to MOTT for use of the unused right of way for future development of the property. 

To read the complete design study, see below.