The swimming pool in Salmon Arm’s recreation centre needs an upgrade.
That’s a top recommendation contained in the initial drafts of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan being compiled for the city.
Key trends were identified through a public open house, and paper, online and telephone surveys, notes Brad Ackerman, the city’s parks and recreation supervisor. Needed improvements to the swimming pool were a key theme.
“Swimming scored very high in all paper surveys,” he said.
Erik Lees, from Lees + Associates, Landscape Architects and Planners, presented a progress report to council in July.
During his presentation, he said the pool is nearing the end of its life cycle, so waiting too long would mean the city might have to close down the pool for six to 12 months or longer.
Lees’ suggestion was that the building be upgraded, enhanced and expanded.
In the phone survey, the top three activities for both categories of young people in the survey – five to 11 year olds and 12 to 17 year olds – were swimming, soccer and ice sports.
Although 83 percent of respondents in the phone survey said they were satisfied with the outdoor recreation available in the city, some suggested more biking trails be made available.
Lees said the city is already very cyclist friendly, but suggested some areas could be adapted to keep up with the growing number of enthusiasts.
He also advised council to investigate building more ball diamonds in the city, noting that the number is currently below average.
Ackerman says feedback pointed to the inability to host tournaments.
“They’re now broken up – two diamonds here, two diamonds there.”
A quad complex would make hosting games a lot easier, he said.
The indoor floor space in the city was found to be insufficient to support the city’s needs. Suggestions were made to create a dry floor arena that could be utilized for a number of sports including pickleball and floor hockey, among others, and could also be flooded to create a rink if wanted.
Asked about the SASCU Memorial indoor arena, Ackerman said the city doesn’t have direct control over some matters. The facility is owned by the fall fair society and the Shuswap Recreation Society is on contract for scheduling.
“So we’re looking at their usage numbers and demand for the facility – and factoring that into the overall picture for amenities in Salmon Arm, currently and moving forward.”
Comparing Salmon Arm to other B.C. communities with 10,000 to 20,000 residents, four key findings were:
• the city is above average in hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents;
• it’s below average in provision of ball diamonds, sport courts and playgrounds;
• playgrounds and neighbourhood parks are both areas where the city is at, or below, average in quantity.
• Salmon Arm has some speciality amenities that other communities don’t, like the water park and skate park. Other speciality amenities that could be added are a BMX park, lacrosse box or outdoor track.
Regarding parkland, the consultant noted that by adding walking and biking trails, adding playgrounds or a hard-surface court, green space can be changed into a usable recreation area. He noted that Salmon Arm has great support in creating trails from groups such as Greenways and the Shuswap Trail Alliance.
He suggested that the better the balance of recreational facilities and usable parks and the more inviting they are, the more they will attract tourists as well as young families to move into the area.
A second open house on the draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6 to 8 p.m. at the recreation centre auditiorium.
“Tables will be set up with all the feedback we’ve gathered thus far, as well as recommendations to address shortfalls and opportunity,” said Ackerman. “At the same open house, we will have updated conceptual plans for the new cemetery.”
The open house will be workshop style, with a presentation to begin followed by a break-out into focus groups.
Ackerman said staff hope to bring a final draft of the plan to council in November.