For an outdated outdoor recreational space in West Vancouver's Gleneagles neighbourhood, the path forward is still unclear.
On Monday, a vote to move forward with a plan to redesign the Gleneagles Adventure Park with pickleball courts and the existing skateboard bowl failed at West Vancouver council.
After a last-minute amendment to look at options for use of BC Hydro land across the street, and a long list of public speakers, council couldn’t reach consensus on how many pickleball courts staff should consider building on the site, and if other amenities in the current proposal should be included.
In March, staff proposed a plan that would have demolished the existing skateboard bowl and dirt jumps, replacing them with a large pump track and four regulation-size pickleball courts.
But after community engagement in the following months, staff said it became clear that members of the local community wanted to keep the skateboard bowl.
The revised concept that staff brought to council on Monday kept the bowl, while adding a smaller pump track, a street-style skate zone and two pickleball courts.
During the public input period, council heard from 23 speakers. Many of them wanted more than two pickleball courts to be built at the park.
Going into his 87th year, Richard Thorpe said he loves to play pickleball.
“We really appreciate the Normanby courts. They’re very actively used often,” he said. "My concern … is that maybe with [Gleneagles] you may be trying to solve too many problems at once, and providing a half a solution for each.
“Putting two pickleball courts in there will defeat a lot of the social requirements that we’d like to have,” Thorpe said. “If there’s only two courts, I think you’ll find that it is inadequately used.”
But others liked the current proposal, which favoured more amenities geared toward youth.
Jim Barnum said that it’s important for the future site to include a pump track and street skate area.
“The bowl is intimidating,” he said. “The street skate park will draw skaters to the site, get them warmed up, get them skating around, and eventually – especially with the addition of the pump track, where they can hone the skills that are required to skate the bowl – they’re going to step into that bowl.”
Barnum added that building additional pickleball courts on the BC Hydro site “sounds like a great idea.”
Potential use of nearby BC Hydro site throws wrench in council discussion
Mayor Mark Sager said he’s going to put “every effort” into trying to acquire rights from BC Hydro to build three or four pickleball courts on the site.
“This is a new idea, but we will have the resources to enter into those discussions and potentially design something there so that we could increase our pump track or some other facilities,” he said.
Coun. Scott Snider said the plan before council served a greater purpose than just being a place for pickleball.
“It is a little bit of a compromise on everybody,” he said. “I know that it’s trying to fit everything into one small space, but I think it achieves [that]. I think that the future of that area is going to be quite vibrant and lively.”
But others on council wanted to see more than two pickleball courts at the adventure park.
Coun. Christine Cassidy suggested that could be achieved by putting the pump track on the BC Hydro site.
“It could have, in an entity unto itself, the exclusivity of that site,” she said. “And the skateboarders on the other side be satisfied with an updated i.e. repaired and useful [bowl], and also to allow the pickleball people to have their site.”
Attempting to find compromise, Coun. Nora Gambioli made a friendly amendment to the motion that would have staff create concept designs for court options with two or three pickleball courts, not necessarily regulation size.
But others on council, including Coun. Sharon Thompson, continued to push for three or four pickleball courts.
Ultimately, only Sager, Gambioli and Snider were in favour, and the vote failed. No date has been set for the matter to come back to council.
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