The Town of Banff is moving ahead with the next step in the plan to redevelop Banff’s recreation grounds.
The municipality has gone out to tender to hire a consultant to help them come up with a plan for redevelopment. A budget of $75,000 was set during 2014 budget discussions to hire an outside expert to help draw up a master plan for the rec grounds.
“We need to meet as many community needs as possible at the rec grounds and since none of us are experts, we’ll bring in experts to have that conversation,” said Mary Brewster, Banff’s Community Services manager. “Public consultation will be a really critical piece of this.”
A separate master plan for the recreational grounds was a recommendation of the recreation facilities master plan, which led to controversial discussions among user groups about plans for the rec grounds.
The eight-hectare site currently features three baseball diamonds, a rugby-soccer pitch surrounded by a 400-metre cinder running track, two playground areas, two tennis courts, a skateboard park, a mountain bike park, a basketball court and a community greenhouse.
There are also three picnic shelters and multiple picnic sites, a public washroom building and paved parking along with connecting trails and a forested area adjacent to the south side of the Bow River.
Under possible consideration is a ball diamond realignment to provide an alternate playing field, permanent skateboard park, removal of the cinder running track and pitch re-sizing, construction of a field house for users and/or a home for other not-for-profit organizations, greenhouse expansion, playground replacement and relocation or improvements to the bike park.
Also on the table for possible discussion is perimeter fencing of the entire site or turf areas and construction of two more tennis courts adjacent to existing courts, with the possibility of covering or enclosing the courts, a winter speed skating oval, winter snowboard park, and walking and jogging trail with fitness stations.
Brewster said the Town of Banff’s finite land base requires the municipality to look at maximizing the use of available park land to serve both resident and visitor needs, noting it’s important to look at the needs and wants of the community.
“We have a number of things we would like to fit into the Banff rec grounds,” she said.
“Can we improve on the amenities and include some of these new amenities within the footprint of the rec grounds? We need to look at all the options and look at the costs.”
