Ashley Park

Recreation:

Surrounded by recreation opportunities on all sides, and bordered by the Swift Current Creek, this centralized neighbourhood offers walking trails, a fitness park, and a new proposed park development on the site of the former Ashley Park school site, as part of the City of Swift Current’s Ashley Park School Redevelopment Plan. This plan looks to retain the existing outdoor soccer facilities, create an enhanced playground area and facilities, and create an outdoor learning centre that is connected through pedestrian walkways to the Swift Current Creek.

Area Parks:

·       Riverdene Park – located a short walk or bike ride across the pedestrian bridge and down the Chinook Parkway walking path this park features a ball diamond, outdoor rink, horsehoe pits and picnic areas, it also features the Kiwanis SK8 Park which offers opportunities for skateboarding, BMX, rollerblading and long boarding.

·       Elmwood Park – This mature, historic park offers stately trees and picnic areas for both large and small social gatherings, a playground, and is home to the city’s only Fitness Park, which offers 13 stations that can provide cardio and core strength training. It is also the site of the City’s annual Picnic in the Park family-fun event.

·       Community Garden – constructed as a tribute to two former Swift Current residents, the Janie and Helen Rempel Community Garden invites those who have a love of gardening or who are just looking to get back to nature and the basics of food, to rent one of the many Garden Boxes available.

Additional Recreation:

·       Swift Current Aquatic Centre – 4 min drive.

·       Swift Current’s Innovation Credit Union iPlex, home to the Swift Current Broncos WHL Hockey team, and other recreation activities and events – a quick 4 min trip.

·       The Swift Current Dog Park and additional baseball diamonds – 4 min drive.

·       Mitchell Field, home to the Swift Current 57’s Baseball team, as well as other diamonds for Little League Baseball – 4 min drive.

·       The Elmwood Golf Club is only a three minute drive, while the Chinook Golf Course is a 7 min drive. Both offer 18 holes, a restaurant and lounge, pro-shop, putting and driving ranges as well as golf cart and club rentals.

Schools:

Nearby schools include those of both the Chinook School Division (Public) and Holy Trinity School Division (Separate). Bus service is available to service both divisions for all grades.

Elementary/Middle Schools:

O.M. Irwin School (Grades Pre-K-8) – 3 min drive.

Central Elementary School (Grades: Pre K – 8) - 6 min drive.

Ecole Centennial (Pre-K – 8) / All Saints Catholic School (Grades: Pre K-8) (Note: This is a French Immersion/English public school and Catholic school built as a joint project with shared spaces) – 8 min drive.

Fairview School: (Grades K-8) – 9 min drive.

High School:

Swift Current Comprehensive High School (Grades 9-12) – (Note: For those wishing for a Catholic education, courses can be taken at SCCHS to fit curriculum requirements) – 4 min drive.

Shopping:

Located centrally between the three main shopping areas in Swift Current, gardening enthusiasts living in Ashley Park will love exploring the Riverdene Garden Centre located across the pedestrian bridge adjacent to Riverdene Park, while those who need a quick trip to the grocers will love the independent Elmwood Grocery, a throwback to a neighbourhood corner store with all of the staples you’ll need, plus local fare shipped in from area farmers and gardeners.

·      Swift Current’s Historic Downtown: a mere 4 min drive, and walking distance from this neighbourhood, Swift Current’s historic downtown region offers a host of independently owned businesses, including health food stores, flower store, toy store, wedding store, fashion store, furniture stores, banks, restaurants, specialty coffee, and a Pharmasave outlet that is western Canada’s largest. The downtown is also host to the Lyric Theatre, a historic music and theatre venue, as well as Market Square a farmer’s market that happens every Saturday in the summer-season.

·      Swift Current Mall: a 7 min drive crossing the Trans Canada Highway from Memorial Drive, this mall and the developments surrounding it offer access to a Safeway and Wholesale Club for groceries. The Living Sky Casino and Sky Centre events venue, Staples, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, as well as a number of gas stations, restaurants and fast-food outlets including a Starbucks.

·      Wheatland Mall: A 9 min drive away, the Wheatland Mall is home to a Pioneer Co-op grocery, home store, liquor store, and gas mart, as well as a Sasktel outlet, Giant Tiger, Peavey Mart, and Coles Bookstore.

Health Services:

Located close to Swift Current’s downtown area, residents of Ashley Park looking for health services will find the city’s two optometrists, as well as specialist offices from dental, podiatry and obstetrics to chiropractic care, all located in the downtown core.

 North Hill is also only a 7 min drive from the newly developed centralized health care area near the Swift Current Mall which includes:

·       Cypress Regional Hospital – opened in 2008, this modern facility offers 91 acute care beds and in addition to Emergency services is the hub of medical services for SW Saskatchewan with services that include: general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, on-site radiology, pathology services and an intensive care unit.

·       The Meadows – opened in 2016, this award-winning facility hosts 225 long-term care patients with more than 225,000 square feet of space. The facility also hosts its own separate Adult Day program and a large Community Centre for resident activities, family gatherings, and other important events. Its proximity and connection to the hospital, allows for efficient transfers if required.

·       Physician and Dental Clinics: Located across from the hospital this area hosts a number of physician and dental clinics, including the Cypress Medical and Surgical Specialists Clinic, the Southwest Medi-Centre, Swift Hearing Centre, North Side Medical Clinic, Careica Health (formerly Provincial Sleep Group) and Sask Valley Dental.

Walk Score: 26

While low on the walking scale for running errands, this neighbourhood is high on the scale for recreational walking, and boasts a 68 on the bikeable index thanks to access to the city’s Chinook Parkway.

History:

The City of Swift Current rose up around the Swift Current Creek which runs throughout the Ashley Park Neighbourhood and Elmwood Park. Here, one of the first schools is Swift Current was built as Elmwood School in 1914. While no longer a school, the historic Elmwood School building remains, and is now a dedicated business centre for local businesses.

The Swift Current Creek has also always been integral as an outdoor recreation for the city, and in 1910 the Knox Presbyterian Church formed a club to build dressing rooms and other facilities to create an outdoor area for public swimming on the site of what today is now Elmwood Park. The spot featured dressing rooms and a double walkway to the sand beach as well as spring boards for diving. The Kiwanis club of Swift Current maintained the beach from the 1920’s through to the 1960’s using the proceeds of their apple campaign (which still takes place each year) to service the facilities, before the city took over the operations as a summer swimming area, providing lifeguards and other amenities. The beach in Elmwood Park closed to the public in 1974.