A floating water park could be the next big attraction at Kinosoo Beach, after a proposal made waves at Cold Lake city council’s April 8 meeting. Local residents Harrison Fallow and Courtney Rande shared their vision for an inflatable aquatic playground just outside the current public swimming area.
The proposal set up would include a life jacket trailer and ticket booth near the rock garden on the east end of the beach, while the actual inflatables would sit further out in deeper water, closer to the eater treatment plant.
“It is just in front of the rock garden, so we’re looking for about a 10 to 20 square foot area where we can set up a trailer for life jackets and a ticketing booth for the water park that we plan on putting in the water on the east side of the beach towards the water treatment facility,” Fallow said.
The park, using a modular system from the company Wibit, would be open to children six years and older. Kids aged either and up could use it without a parent, and lifeguards trained in open water safety would be on duty. The developers also said a toddler-friendly section could be added in the future.
One key part of the proposal was the possibility of reviving swimming lessons at the beach. “We should also note that part of this plan has a bit of an expansion to it, bringing forth swimming lessons back to the beach. Apparently, that was a thing a few years ago,” Rande said. “We’re parents in this community, and it is one of the things that we have noticed is almost impossible to het into, is swimming lessons. And this will give us the ability to do more community involvement things like bring swimming lessons back to the beach.”
Environmental concerns were also addressed. Fallow and Rande said they were aware of Alberta Health Services’ beach closure guidelines and plan to use bird deterrents such as propane cannons to prevent contamination.
Fallow noted that while they understand the propane cannons might be an issue, there are other deterrents they could explore. Fallow noted that the goal is to work with the city not only to keep their facility open, but also help keep the beach open longer with more hours available through the summer. “If propane cannons are a go, we’ll have to go out and canvas the community that lives right on Beach Ave to talk to them and see what their concerns would that be,” said Fallow.
The park would be anchored using underwater screw piles installed by divers, with support from the local scuba diving society. The proposal also involved working with Transport Canada to have the area marked as a designated swimming zone on official waterway maps. “We’ll have to follow their process to change some of the water mapping so that on the maps it’ll show that we are a swim area and not a boating area,” Fallow explained.
Councillor Vicky Lefebvre supported the concept but asked about lakebed safety and cleanliness. Rande assured council the area had already been surveyed and reviewed to ensure a safe zone with no large rocks. “We’re going to be good neighbours, we promise,” she said. Fallow added, “Obviously if we’re granted beach access, we’re going to keep our area clean and everything around us as clean as possible.”
Mayor Craig Copeland raised concern about the trailer’s location, which is near an area often used for wheelchair access. Fallow responded that what they liked about the location is that it’s still part of the beach where everyone can see and enjoy it, but it’s also a separate space where it’s off to the side and out of the way in some ways.
The proposal is now under city review and the proposal will return to council at a future meeting for a decision.
