Consultants hired by the city found there is strong resident support for a new pool and arena at Hammond Stadium.
City council reviewed public input conducted by Cornerstone Planning on April 16.
“Overall, there was notable community support and excitement for a new facility and for recreation amenities to keep pace with the growth of the city,” said a summary report to council. “Participants indicated the desire for amenities such as aquatics facilities with a focus on leisure and therapy, increased arena space, and increased fitness and general recreation spaces such as walking tracks, climbing walls, children’s play spaces and youth focused spaces.”
The councils headed by former mayors Nicole Read in 2016 and Mike Morden in 202o both found strong public support for new recreation facilities in Maple Ridge.
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The opportunities for the latest round of public input included four open houses, a general public survey, user group and stakeholder surveys, and focus group sessions through January and February. The city got 2,358 survey responses from the public, 183 responses from user groups, 649 comments at open houses, and did 17 interview and workshop sessions – six with council committees and 11 with community groups.
Quentin Talbot-Kelly, a partner with the Cornerstone consultant, presented the work to council, and called it “a very involved and engaged community,” and said the public response was one of the largest they’ve seen for a project of this scale.
“The community is looking for additional leisure and recreation water, and less so with a focus of competitive water,” he said, noting that this impacts the depth and shape of pools, and temperature of the water.
Top aquatic amenities requested were hot tubs, lazy rivers, water slides, and an outdoor aquatic amenity – as a replacement of the Hammond outdoor pool.
The public said there is insufficient prime-time ice time available in arenas, and in particular they want to see an increase in access to drop-in and leisure skating.
Also, 31 per cent of survey respondents indicated a need for a fitness area – weights and cardio, 30 per cent wanted an indoor walking track, 18 per cent a climbing wall, 17 per cent children’s play spaces and 17 per cent youth-focused spaces.
The consultants also noted 11 per cent expressed concern about the loss of baseball diamonds at the Hammond Site, home of Larry Walker Field, and seven per cent are in “direct opposition” to the proposed site.
Coun. Ahmed Yousef asked whether there are plans to retain the baseball fields, but the meeting chair, Korleen Carreras, said only the public engagement was on the agenda at the meeting.
“This was one of the highest participation rates we’ve seen in a city engagement – it’s clear this is an important priority for our residents,” said Mayor Dan Ruimy. “It was heartening to see the community’s excitement for a new recreation facility, and we gained a lot of useful insight into the types of programs and amenities our residents want and where they are experiencing gaps in our current recreation services. It was a great start for the comprehensive engagement we’ll be doing throughout this project.”
Next steps for the project include a detailed site analysis, including archaeological, geotechnical and traffic assessments, as well as the development of design concept options that incorporate the feedback received. The community will be invited to comment on the design concepts later this spring during a second round of public engagement.
The city noted it has chosen the 13-acre Hammond site because the facilities there need upgrading.
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