Cowan Heights Neighbourhood Plan

Draft Neighbourhood Vision

Cowan Heights will continue to be a safe, primarily residential neighbourhood with a high-quality interconnected greenspace and pathway system at its heart. Framed by mixed-use and walkable services and amenities, residents and visitors alike will have housing, recreation, and transportation options to choose from.

Proposed Neighbourhood Strategies:

Check out the initial recommendations for Cowan Heights! We are proposing 8 key neighbourhood strategies for the Neighbourhood Plan to guide future growth and improvements:

1. Transit-oriented Redevelopment: Focus highest intensity growth at the Village Shopping Centre node, integrated with upgrades to the transit hub, and provide transition between highest density uses towards lower density residential areas.
2. Blackmarsh Road Expansion: Enable new residential development and a local commercial node in the urban expansion area along Blackmarsh Road, once services are extended.
3. Blackmarsh Road Link: In addition to completing the proposed connections identified in the Bike St. John’s Master Plan, extend the active transportation network along Blackmarsh Road.
4. Community Park Upgrades: Complete Master Plans to guide amenity updates in Kitty Gaul Park and Cowan Park and increase awareness of the parks through better wayfinding.
5. Parkside Community Centre: Re-activate the Parkside Community Centre building as a gathering place for food, recreation, arts, and cultural activities.
6. Trail Network Updates: Improve the accessibility, connectivity, and wayfinding of the existing trail network and improve safety for active modes where the trail network connects to streets.
7. Hamlyn Road Green Street: Enhance pedestrian access to the Village Shopping Centre Node with improved crossings, and landscaping.
8. Re-imagining Tot-lots: In collaboration with adjacent residents, update existing tot-lot parks to provide more passive recreation uses such as community gardens, off-leash areas, natural areas, and gathering spaces.

A larger version of the Neighbourhood Strategy Map can be found in the Documents section.

About the Project

The City of St. John’s is developing a Neighbourhood Plan for the community of Cowan Heights. The Neighbourhood Plan aims to take the visions we set for the City through Envision St. John's and make them real at the community/neighbourhood level. This plan will be shaped by the existing policies of the Municipal Plan, analysis of local conditions, and engagement within the neighbourhood and the wider community. To be successful, the vision and plan for Cowan Heights needs to be grounded in an understanding of the unique characteristics of the community. The plan will incorporate the needs and desires of the people who live, work, and play in these neighbourhoods.

The Cowan Heights Neighbourhood Plan will focus on the area highlighted on the map above.

This project has been made possible through funding from the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) provided to the City of St. John’s by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Learn more about how the City is using this $10.4 million in funding to stimulate housing growth at StJohns.ca.