At the end of Raven Lane, among the trees and well off the beaten path, a dream is slowly taking shape.
The Squamish Sports Legacy Park is inching toward reality and while it's not a done deal yet, organizers say that if all goes well, the project could finally get going this fall.
According to Rick Smith of the Callaghan Winter Sports Club (CWSC), a number of unique hurdles have prevented the park from getting started after the project received $110,000 from Squamish council as part of the $750,000 Sport Legacy Fund in June.
We applied for a recreational tenure from the Crown, but the problem was the piece of land was designated as light industrial in the [District] of Squamish's official community plan (OCP), Smith said, explaining that an amendment to the OCP must go through before the group can proceed.
So we're now proceeding with the OCP amendment and rezoning, but part of that process includes a set of fees which is usually attached to developers. Our initial set of fees for the rezoning is $5,100 and needless to say, as a non-profit, we don't have that money in our coffers to spend on such a thing.
Smith said the CWSC is requesting that the district waive the charges.
Following that, we have to have a community meeting to tell people we're rezoning the land and make sure they know about the change, he said. We're not expecting any kind of resistance from the public or council, but the process has slowed us down a bit. The fees are understandable for a developer, but not for us.
Organizers hope that after the fee is waived, they'll set about the task of seeking the amendment of the OCP and then continuing work with the provincial government.
We're really excited about it, Smith said. I can't see any reason why it wouldn't get off the ground. It's going to be a really neat thing for our town and the entire corridor.
Neat doesn't even begin to describe the feelings that John Heilig, CWSC member and Nordic sport manager for Whistler Sport Legacies Society, has about the project.
The vision of this park is a multi-sport facility that provides accessibility and athletic opportunities in Nordic sports for youth in Squamish, he said. Right now Squamish makes up half of all the season passes at Whistler Olympic Park and this park would be the perfect place for Squamish youth to learn and practice their Nordic skills.
Heilig envisions a facility that would have a paved track for cross-country skiers to use for roller skiing during warmer weather, a biathlon shooting range and a ski jumping facility that would be the perfect training ground for young jumpers.
This piece of land off of Raven Lane is perfect, he said. It's near a transit stop, near all the facilities at Brennan Park, the Loggers Sports Grounds, equestrian, the baseball and soccer fields, and the Corridor Trail.
It would just be awesome to have so many sports in a hub like this. You could send a kid to swimming lessons, drop one off at the soccer fields or take one to ski jumping training. It's a real opportunity to create an amazing hub of sporting activity.
Heilig said there will be a novice to intermediate rock climbing area and unpaved trails for hiking. He added that he wouldn't be opposed to finding room for a mountain bike skills park, which was one of the projects snubbed during the allocating of the Sport Legacy Fund money.
We want this to be an inclusive, not exclusive, sports park, he said, noting that a similar partnership between Nordic sports and mountain biking worked in Calgary. I think it would absolutely be a great fit for this park.
In keeping with the idea of inclusivity, the CWSC has found an ally in the project: the Squamish Valley Rod and Gun Club (SVRGC). The proposed location of the park is adjacent to the SVRGC's range and the group's president, Mike Wallace, said he's looking forward to working with his new neighbours.
There's obviously some facilities we can share, he said. For example, we have the shooting range, which the biathlon people require and they're actually using our range now. It works out really well because some of the people are members of our club and the CWSC, and the more use our ranges get, the better they are for everyone.
Heilig said it's a natural fit with the SVRGC and said it's common in Europe for gun clubs to work closely with the Nordic clubs. Above all, Heilig said the park will make Nordic sports accessible and give local youth the chance to experience cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping and Nordic combined.
If soccer players had to drive to North Van to play, would soccer be as popular as it is in Squamish? he asked. This park will provide accessibility for our youth but it could also be used by seniors, families with young children or people just wanting to try out a new sport.
If we can attract a broader range of kids to Nordic sports, I think it could produce some amazing results for us as a country. I look at sport as a model of life the skills you use in sport you use for the rest of your life and this park will give kids the chance to develop some unique skills.
It's not going to be just a Nordic facility but I look at it as an outdoor recreation facility with Nordic sports. We say we're the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada and this park will go a long way in proving that. This park could be a real asset for Squamish.
