The Labrador West Parks and Trails Master Plan includes both the municipalities of Labrador City and Wabush and is envisioned to be a comprehensive guidebook in shaping the future recreational framework of the Labrador West Region.

The overarching goal of the Labrador West Parks and Trails Master Plan is to accessibly connect and celebrate the many natural, cultural, and recreational assets Labrador West has to offer. Within this context, the masterplan seeks to establish a hierarchy of gateway experiences throughout the proposed trail network, with an emphasis along the Trans Labrador Highway at Tanya Lake as well as Gateway Labrador. Labrador West is well situated to welcome visitors to the region as it is the first community to enter when arriving from the Quebec border. Because of Labrador West’s northern location, consideration of shifting seasonal uses and designing for the winter season has been a key design challenge. Designing for seasonality has been interwoven throughout the masterplan. Finally, consolidation of recreational uses to one centralized hub was highlighted as a primary goal of the masterplan. This allows for prime park areas such as Tanya Lake and Al Thoms Recreation Area, which have previously hosted more static programming such a baseball fields, to be reconfigured for more flexible and scalable programming — accommodating a number of different uses that serve both neighbourhood and regional needs, residents and tourists alike.

Labrador West, as a whole, has a multitude of natural, recreational, and cultural assets scattered throughout. However, many of these indoor and outdoor destinations are spread across the region, with no, or inconsistent, pedestrian or active transportation connections. The Parks and Trails Master Plan builds upon existing parks and trail infrastructure to create a comprehensive trail network that unites the community, and harmonizes a variety of uses including hiking, cycling, ATVing, snowmobiling, and vehicular traffic.

Status

Completed 2019

Our Role

Landscape Architecture and Planning

Client

Labrador West

Location

Labrador City and Wabush, NL