The City of Saint John held a Public Engagement Session on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at St. John the Baptist, King Edward School concerning proposed changes and improvements to Rainbow Park, and proposed parking changes in the vicinity of the Park to accommodate the new K-8 school being proposed for the site.
The engagement session provided community members and opportunity to learn more about this exciting project, specifically as it relates to Rainbow Park, as well as the opportunity to provide input on the proposed redesign to better serve the needs of the community.
In 2022, the Province of New Brunswick Announced that Rainbow Park has been selected as the site of a new kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school and community hub in Saint John’s Central Peninsula, replacing the aging Prince Charles and St. John the Baptist King Edward schools. The school will be state iff the art and have a capacity of 522 students. The community hub will have an early learning centre for up to 116 children, and community programming space.
In order to facilitate the opening of the school, traffic and parking changes are being proposed. Changes to Rainbow Park are also being proposed. These proposed changes were the primary purpose of the public engagement session. The proposed changes to Rainbow park will allow shared use of the park for both the school and the public - with parts of the park being reserved for exclusive access of the school during school hours. Proposed improvements to Rainbow Park to accommodate the new school could include a new tot lot playground, community garden, dog park, a new and reoriented basketball court, a new location for the Turner-Brewer Memorial within the Park, continued operation of the splash pad, and new seating, fencing, lighting, and landscaping features.
(Source: https://shapeyourcitysaintjohn.ca/rainbow-park-engagement-session)