Young's harbour

Keswick, Ontario

Young's Harbour in Keswick is a heavily used multi-use park and boat launch. The adjacent under-utilized open space is surrounded by roads and predominantly used for boat trailer parking. Working with ideas initiated by the "Keswick ReWilding Group" through a Pod caching exercise MSA developed a design concept to provide "people places" while providing for the overland flow and storage of stormwater before it enters Lake Simcoe.

The concept proposes a strong physical connection between the existing shoreline park and the under- utilized open space by closing off one of the roads.

The naturalized water course with riparian planting becomes the centrepiece of the design. The concept also features community gardens, fishing platforms, a large gathering space with a bandshell, a redesigned boat launch area for trailers and soft launch area for canoes and kayaks.