Help transform our 180 foot driveway into a mobility-friendly walkway!
From our 60 volunteers, to our visitors from around the world, Abkhazi Garden is beloved by the thousands who enjoy the space each year. Artists, horticulturalists, historians, photographers, musicians, school groups, senior citizens, families, lovers, and diplomates all find something special within our unique heritage garden. And our programming reflects how our community appreciates the garden in a variety of ways: Abkhazi Garden is an oasis of tranquility in an urban setting; volunteering at Abkhazi Garden is a deeply rewarding experience for members of our community; the garden provides a venue for local artisans, painters, musicians, photographers, and yoga instructors; the garden is a nature sanctuary for birds; the site is a place of learning for all ages for those interested in plants, garden design, architecture, history, and wildlife; Abkhazi Garden provides a venue for celebrating birthdays, weddings, and celebrations of life; the site supports a Teahouse and Gift Shop that is popular with tourists and local residents; the site creates a unique international connection between Canada and the Country of Georgia; and admission is by donation so that everyone can enjoy our spectacular heritage garden.
To continue to ensure that the garden is a destination we can all appreciate, a new mobility-friendly walkway has been designed to make our entry and driveway accessible for all. While the walkway will still be able to be used as a driveway and is being designed with materials that will allow a fire truck to access our heritage house, our walkway will be accessible, walkable, bikeable, and drivable. Our project will involve re-grading the driveway to lessen the slope and to smooth it out. Then a gravel grid will be installed and gravel will be added to the grid. There will be a 3-foot paver border on either side of this permeable middle gravel section. The top of the driveway behind the Teahouse will be smoothed out and pavers will be placed to create an outdoor patio area for volunteer coffee breaks, recognition events, and cultural performances. Our accessibility project will improve Abkhazi Garden in the following ways:
1. It will greatly improve accessibility and safety for our visitors and volunteers. Currently we have safety and accessibility concerns for the more than 23,000 visitors who come to visit the garden. With our principal entrance and exit point to the garden and Teahouse in need of improvement, TLC would like to transform the driveway into a walkway that is safer for mobility-challenged guests, for people in wheelchairs or who use a walker, and for all our other visitors and volunteers.
2. Encouraging carbon-friendly transport to the garden. As part of the walkway/driveway design we are adding more bike racks. A bike rack will be installed by the rock wall situated below the Teahouse and hanging bike racks will be installed further up the walkway by the back of the Teahouse. With improved bike access and storage, our goal is to increase the number of bike riders to the garden as individuals or in group rides. TLC appreciates the need to get cars off the road and the health benefits of riding bikes to a beautiful garden.
3. A more environmentally friendly permeable solution. The new walkway/driveway design keeps environmental standards in mind. We are planning to remove and recycle the old asphalt and replace it with a permeable surface of gravel with brick paver borders. Installing a gravel driveway complies with modern, sustainable urban drainage systems, will prevent puddling and erosion, and reduce runoff to the City’s storm drains.
4. Increases accessible cultural spaces in our community and enhances the beauty of the garden. The garden of Prince and Princess Abkhazi is an artistic masterpiece. The new walkway of gravel and brick pavers will elevate the aesthetics of the garden while providing a safer experience for thousands of visitors. The top level of the walkway behind the Teahouse will become the Abkhazi Courtyard where we can celebrate our volunteers and host cultural events.
You can support our Abkhazi Garden Accessibility Project by donating online today.
