Throughout the Cloverdale Farigrounds redevelopment planning process, there was a general understanding that a sorely needed rec facility would be built as part of the plan. However, the rec centre was generally felt to be the afterthought, and the City put far more effort into pursuing private developers to find a partner that would want to build a hotel or convention centre on the space. Of course, this is despite the fact that Cloverdale was named the fastest growing town, in terms of per capita population, in Canada, and that this is the only town centre lacking a public weight room/fitness studio and indoor pool.
As construction costs have escalated in the past few years due to the Olympics, infrastructure expansion and a building boom, the cost of building the rec centre has made the City delay the project once again – with plans to finally turn the sod late this year. It’s also caused the City to reduce the scope of the plans, cutting up the Multi-Purpose Centre into phases – meaning, the new facility will add a gym, weight room, and several multi-purpose rooms to Cloverdale, but that we won’t be seeing a new/expanded arena or indoor pool anytime soon.
It’s great to hear that it’s finally being built. I for one would use a fitness centre if one was close (i.e. in my community). The closest ones as of now are the YMCA in Panorama Ridge, the Newton Rec Centre, and the SSLC in Fleetwood. Only two of these are easily accessible by transit, but the whole process becomes so long and tiresome, I would prefer to just not go. Furthermore, beyond a Curves, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a private gym facility in Cloverdale.
The truly unfortunate part of the plans however, beyond cutting the new arena (which had a ton of proponents due to the hockey leagues), is the lack of support for an indoor pool. The City claims Cloverdale doesn’t need one, due to the popularity of the outdoor Greenaway pool, and the only 10-15 minute drive to the SSLC in Fleetwood. This conclusion flies in the face of information in the Parks, Rec, and Culture Master Plan.
As you can see from the graph above, from the 1995 PRC budget, certain services achieve a higher cost recovery than others. At the very bottom, with no cost recovery, are parks. I’m not sure why they don’t get anything considering how many leagues and teams must rent the space. Following that, the outdoor pools (which are free by the way), and the Arts Centre, get about 25% back. Then there’s Rec programs at almost 50%. The top two however, are Arenas, at 73% and Indoor Pools, at 57%. Of course, Arenas have many different uses, from public skates, to skating lessons, to hockey, speed skating, and figure skating clubs. With so many users, it’s easy to see why we need more ice sheets.
Indoor Pools also get a fairly good cost recovery, although they have less users overall: public swims, swimming lessons, and various swimming clubs. Apparently, Surrey was a pioneer in terms of indoor pools with the construction of the Newton Wave Pool in the 80′s, as it was one of the first “leisure” pools in the region. Of course, the Newton Wave Pool didn’t quite balance leisure with fitness, as it lacked a lap pool. Plans to build one have been on the backburner for years.
In any case, according to the guidelines set in the PRC Master Plan, Cloverdale should have two ice arenas (population of 40,000), an indoor pool (population of 40,000), and a multi-purpose centre (population of 60,000). Cloverdale is already coming up on 50,000 residents.
Beyond that, Indoor Pools are one of the three most requested improvements to recreation facilities in the city, and are also the most used indoor rec facilities.
Based on the numbers, standards set by PRC, and the data that shows Indoor Pools are a good value for taxpayers money, why isn’t one being planned as part of the proposed Cloverdale Multi-Purpose Centre? Furthermore, if we are truly trying to create complete communities, how can the City use the excuse of reasonable driving distances to neighbouring town centres against building an indoor pool in Cloverdale? Aren’t you just encouraging auto use, while discouraging the creation of complete communities – the opposite of what we should be trying to do in this age of climate change and peak oil!
