Dun Skipper Park

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Dun Skipper Park is a proposed 0.8 ha parkette located at 69 Dun Skipper Drive in Leitrim. The park is located in the Pathways at Findlay Creek and the Pathways South at Findlay Creek subdivisions. The park straddles the boundary between Ward 20 (Osgoode) and Ward 22 (Gloucester – South Nepean).

Dun Skipper Park is bounded by Dun Skipper Drive to the north and Kijik Crescent to the south. A servicing block and residential uses are located to the west, and residential uses are located to the east.

Proposed amenities for Dun Skipper Park include the following: swings with 2 belt seats, 2 bucket seats and a saucer swing, junior and senior playground equipment, a shade umbrella table, a park identification sign, benches, a waste receptacle, asphalt pathways and landscape planting.

The City has received requests for tennis / pickleball courts in the southern part of Leitrim. Space has been identified on the concept plan to accommodate the potential future development of double tennis / pickleball courts in response to these requests. The scope and budget of the Dun Skipper Park project does not include the design and construction of the courts. Future City funding would be required to develop public courts at the park.

The park and playground will be developed in accordance with the City’s Accessibility Design Standards.

You can access the Conceptual Landscape Plan for the park in the Document Library on the right side of the page. The community is invited to provide comments on the proposed concept plan and playground equipment.

Please provide comments on the concept plan to Burl.Walker@ottawa.ca by August 12, 2022.


What We Heard

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Dun Skipper Park public consultation. The consultation statistics show that 107 visitors viewed the website on Engage Ottawa. 12 written submissions were received by the Parks Planner.

In general, the submissions included the following requests and comments:

  • 4 requests to add a splash pad
  • 1 request to add a basketball court or key
  • 5 submissions or requests in favour of the potential future tennis / pickleball courts, with no submissions received in opposition to adding them to the park
  • 1 request for level walking paths and benches for everyone including elders
  • 1 request to avoid asphalt pathways in parks
  • 1 request to provide for more creative play opportunities or games for children rather than providing traditional playground equipment
  • 1 request for shady areas
  • 1 request to include a naturalized area in the park with wildflowers and milkweed (especially since Monarch butterflies were just added to the endangered species list), a pond, increased tree canopy, and for Ottawa to become a biophilic city

Dun Skipper Park is not planned to accommodate a splash pad or a basketball court or key. A splash pad and a full-size basketball court are currently under construction nearby at Miikana Park to serve this area of Leitrim. Miikana Park is a neighbourhood park located at 655 Miikana Road, approximately 350m to the west of Dun Skipper Park. The Miikana Park concept plan can be viewed on Engage Ottawa at the following link: https://engage.ottawa.ca/miikana-park.

Space is being protected in Dun Skipper Park to be able to accommodate the potential development of tennis and pickleball courts in the future.

The park pathways and seating will be designed and constructed in accordance with the City’s Accessibility Design Standards to facilitate access by elderly residents and persons with disabilities. Asphalt pathways are part of the City’s standards and are planned to be included as part of the park construction.

The project is targeting a tree canopy target of approximately 30% coverage at maturity. An umbrella shade structure and table are also proposed to provide a shaded seating area adjacent to the playground.

The request to add a naturalized area cannot be accommodated due to maintenance issues and budget and space constraints for the project. The addition of a pollinator garden could be considered in the future after the park has been developed. A community association or a non-profit organization can make a request to leasing-location@ottawa.ca for a Consent to Enter Agreement to permit the development of a pollinator garden. Under the Consent to Enter Agreement, the community association or non-profit organization would be responsible for maintaining the pollinator garden.

The park was designed to follow the theme of its name: Dun Skipper, which is a moth whose habitat spans Ontario. The different park elements were laid out to mimic the shape of a Dun Skipper- with the Junior/Senior playground area and the Swing area being the wings, and the Tot Play area the head. Every effort was made to provide unique and creative play equipment pieces within the theme and the budgetary constraints for the park. Some examples of unique pieces include the Butterfly Wing Climber with the Butterfly Post Toppers, the Dragonfly Teeter Totter and the Log Slice Climber in the Junior/Senior Playground area.

Dun Skipper Park is a proposed 0.8 ha parkette located at 69 Dun Skipper Drive in Leitrim. The park is located in the Pathways at Findlay Creek and the Pathways South at Findlay Creek subdivisions. The park straddles the boundary between Ward 20 (Osgoode) and Ward 22 (Gloucester – South Nepean).

Dun Skipper Park is bounded by Dun Skipper Drive to the north and Kijik Crescent to the south. A servicing block and residential uses are located to the west, and residential uses are located to the east.

Proposed amenities for Dun Skipper Park include the following: swings with 2 belt seats, 2 bucket seats and a saucer swing, junior and senior playground equipment, a shade umbrella table, a park identification sign, benches, a waste receptacle, asphalt pathways and landscape planting.

The City has received requests for tennis / pickleball courts in the southern part of Leitrim. Space has been identified on the concept plan to accommodate the potential future development of double tennis / pickleball courts in response to these requests. The scope and budget of the Dun Skipper Park project does not include the design and construction of the courts. Future City funding would be required to develop public courts at the park.

The park and playground will be developed in accordance with the City’s Accessibility Design Standards.

You can access the Conceptual Landscape Plan for the park in the Document Library on the right side of the page. The community is invited to provide comments on the proposed concept plan and playground equipment.

Please provide comments on the concept plan to Burl.Walker@ottawa.ca by August 12, 2022.


What We Heard

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Dun Skipper Park public consultation. The consultation statistics show that 107 visitors viewed the website on Engage Ottawa. 12 written submissions were received by the Parks Planner.

In general, the submissions included the following requests and comments:

  • 4 requests to add a splash pad
  • 1 request to add a basketball court or key
  • 5 submissions or requests in favour of the potential future tennis / pickleball courts, with no submissions received in opposition to adding them to the park
  • 1 request for level walking paths and benches for everyone including elders
  • 1 request to avoid asphalt pathways in parks
  • 1 request to provide for more creative play opportunities or games for children rather than providing traditional playground equipment
  • 1 request for shady areas
  • 1 request to include a naturalized area in the park with wildflowers and milkweed (especially since Monarch butterflies were just added to the endangered species list), a pond, increased tree canopy, and for Ottawa to become a biophilic city

Dun Skipper Park is not planned to accommodate a splash pad or a basketball court or key. A splash pad and a full-size basketball court are currently under construction nearby at Miikana Park to serve this area of Leitrim. Miikana Park is a neighbourhood park located at 655 Miikana Road, approximately 350m to the west of Dun Skipper Park. The Miikana Park concept plan can be viewed on Engage Ottawa at the following link: https://engage.ottawa.ca/miikana-park.

Space is being protected in Dun Skipper Park to be able to accommodate the potential development of tennis and pickleball courts in the future.

The park pathways and seating will be designed and constructed in accordance with the City’s Accessibility Design Standards to facilitate access by elderly residents and persons with disabilities. Asphalt pathways are part of the City’s standards and are planned to be included as part of the park construction.

The project is targeting a tree canopy target of approximately 30% coverage at maturity. An umbrella shade structure and table are also proposed to provide a shaded seating area adjacent to the playground.

The request to add a naturalized area cannot be accommodated due to maintenance issues and budget and space constraints for the project. The addition of a pollinator garden could be considered in the future after the park has been developed. A community association or a non-profit organization can make a request to leasing-location@ottawa.ca for a Consent to Enter Agreement to permit the development of a pollinator garden. Under the Consent to Enter Agreement, the community association or non-profit organization would be responsible for maintaining the pollinator garden.

The park was designed to follow the theme of its name: Dun Skipper, which is a moth whose habitat spans Ontario. The different park elements were laid out to mimic the shape of a Dun Skipper- with the Junior/Senior playground area and the Swing area being the wings, and the Tot Play area the head. Every effort was made to provide unique and creative play equipment pieces within the theme and the budgetary constraints for the park. Some examples of unique pieces include the Butterfly Wing Climber with the Butterfly Post Toppers, the Dragonfly Teeter Totter and the Log Slice Climber in the Junior/Senior Playground area.

Page last updated: 31 Oct 2022, 02:19 PM