Rutland Centennial Park, Kelowna: StreetBond park surface, phase four

The fourth and final phase of construction at Rutland Centennial Park in Kelowna brought us back for the completion of a multi-phase decorative asphalt project. StreetBond® coatings were the specification throughout (cost-effective, visually strong, and suited to the Okanagan's climate demands) with DecoMark medallions set into the coloured fields.

Rutland Centennial Park is a community park in the Rutland neighbourhood of Kelowna, a well-used space that serves residents across a wide age range. The phased improvement program allowed the City to upgrade the surface in stages, managing budget and minimizing disruption to park users.

What the photograph shows

The lede photograph is an aerial of the finished plaza. A pale teal field fills the centre, with a scatter of white DecoMark circles running through it like bubbles and two concrete table-tennis tables standing on it. Around that field the coating changes to a deeper blue-grey, with a lighter blue band and a hexagonal play enclosure at one edge; the white concrete curbs that separate the zones are part of the design rather than something the coating had to work around. Beyond the fence are the park's playing fields, and a work truck is parked at the edge of the lot. The project record holds two more frames, including a large yellow-and-white circular medallion on the darker field.

Multi-phase project delivery

Phased projects have specific requirements that single-site installs don't. Colour consistency between phases is critical: the StreetBond formulations for phase four had to match what was applied in phases one through three, so the finished park reads as a unified design rather than a patchwork of different eras.

We maintain records of the exact specifications (product batches, colour codes, aggregate specifications) from each phase of a multi-year project precisely to enable this consistency. When phase four was approved, we matched to the existing installation.

Okanagan climate performance

Kelowna's climate presents different challenges from the Lower Mainland. Summer UV is intense, the Okanagan sees considerably more sunshine hours than Metro Vancouver, and the combination of hot summers and cold winters creates a more demanding freeze-thaw cycle for surface coatings.

StreetBond's formulation is built for this environment: the manufacturer describes the coating as UV-stable, and the anti-skid aggregate holds grip through the wet months. Our other Interior work in the same material includes a solar-reflective StreetBond SR pathway in Osoyoos, installed in 2023.

The systems

Both products are installed by Square One; the figures are the manufacturer's. StreetBond is a water-based acrylic pavement coating for asphalt or concrete: more than 50 standard colours plus custom mixing, an anti-skid aggregate, and an 8+ year life cycle that the manufacturer describes as refreshed rather than replaced. DecoMark is preformed thermoplastic, heat-fused to the pavement, cut to any custom artwork in a full colour spectrum, with the durability of standard thermoplastic marking. Specifications: StreetBond and DecoMark, under our decorative coatings and preformed thermoplastic services; the parks and paths gallery has the wider record.

For a parks department phasing a project

• Record the colour codes at phase one. Matching a coating years later is straightforward when the specification is on file and guesswork when it isn't.
• Let the curbs do the zoning. Where a plaza has raised edges, run each colour to the curb; the joints stay clean and a future recoat can be done zone by zone.
• Put the medallions where feet go. DecoMark holds its edge under foot traffic, so the graphics can sit in the path rather than off to the side.

For Okanagan municipalities and parks operators specifying decorative asphalt surfaces, send a photo of the surface and a postal code to office@squareonepaving.com, call 604-612-6209, or use the contact form. We come out, look, and put a written quote together.