Calgary's St. Patrick's Island takes top prize in national competition

Many Calgarians already appreciate its natural beauty, but St. Patrick's Island Park is now getting some national recognition.

The Canadian Institute of Planners' Great Places in Canada competition recently named the East Village gem the winner in the Great Public Space category.

• St. Patrick's Island reopens after $45M makeover

For park user Kate MacPherson, it was a no-brainer and no surprise.

"No, not at all, just because of its natural setting, because of where it is located," MacPherson told CBC News.

"I like the walking paths that they have put around the island, making it really accessible for anybody to actually use, people with all mobilities. And it is right by the Bow River as well."

The island is one of Calgary's oldest parks, and development startedin the late 1890s. A bridge to the island was built in the early 1900s.

Many decades later, it was abandoned for years until a massive renovation project completed in July 2015 gave it a new life.

Jessa Morrison is with the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, the group that organized the park's remake.

She saidpublic input was a big part of the changes.

"When we first chatted with our community, people talked about accessing the Bow and how few spots there were where people could actually get close to the river, and play in the river and spend time with their family by that waterway," Morrison told CBC'sThe Homestretch.

The Homestretch7:22Calgary's St. Patrick's Island is designated a Great Public Space

The Canadian Institute of Planners has given Calgary's St. Patrick's Island a national honour: they've named it a Great Public Space. The Homestretch's Jenny Howe took a tour of the restored island with Calgary Municipal Land Corporation's Jessa Morrison.

The newer playground has some echoes of the past, she says.

"This is a wooden playground something that you don't see as often anymore. Although there are some really traditional features like a swing set and slides, there are also some formations that are just meant for kids to explore and figure things out themselves."

Amanda Kuchma says her two young children really enjoy the park.

"It is one of our favourite places to go in the city. When the weather is good and I have got a day with the kids, it is one of our favourite spots. Especially in the summer time, we really like the spot [where]the Bow River has been closed off a little bit. The kids can splash around," Kuchma said.

Morrison saidstructures on the island were designed to be flood resistant.

"All of the benches and tables on St. Patrick's Island, they are really simple. St. Patrick's Island is in the flood plain, a flood would have this island covered in water, which is finebecause we have built it to withstand all of that," she explained.

Vision Place honours the First Nation history of the area, Morrison said.

"This was the traditional Blackfoot camp. We are here at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River. This is extremely significant space, and place for the Blackfoot community, so I invite people to just come spend some time here and think about that and reflect on that."

Meanwhile, Kuchma is hoping the success of the park could be used as a template.

"I am not too surprised," she said of the national award.

"It is a pretty exceptional [place] here in Calgary. I am hoping it kind of sets the tone for maybe a few more new public spaces like it."

With files from Evelyne Asselin and The Homestretch