Detailed site analysis, including archaeological, geotechnical, and traffic assessments
Development of design concept options that incorporate the feedback received and meet the needs of our growing community
Planning for the re-location of the baseball fields should this project proceed
Engagement Phase 2 - Winter/Spring 2025
In order to provide as comprehensive and current information as possible for the public to provide feedback on, phase two of community engagement will occur in winter/spring 2025.
Engagement will continue to include a survey, public open houses, and focus groups with various user groups, community groups, and key partners.
Register at Engage.MapleRidge.ca/Move-Meet-Play to receive project updates, including the launch of engagement phase 2!
Engagement Phase 1: Jan 22 - Feb 23, 2024
The data we received from all of the nearly 2,360 survey responses and 650 open house comments has now been analyzed and summarized into our Recreation Feasibility Study - Phase 1 Engagement Summary. The feedback gave valuable insight about what the community is wanting for our future place to move, meet, and play.
Our City is rapidly growing and there is a huge demand for more recreation. In the 2023 Parks, Recreation, and Culture Master Plan, the City of Maple Ridge identified a pressing need for new aquatic and arena facilities, ranking these among the top five recreation capital investment priorities. Hammond Community Park has been identified as the preferred site for the City’s future aquatics facility and ice sheet – priorities identified in the Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) Master Plan adopted in February 2023. As a City-owned property and home to the aging Hammond Community Centre and outdoor pool, the site is ideal to minimize land purchase costs for the new facility.
This Recreation Facility Feasability Study is part of a comprehensive approach to recreation planning that considers growth trends across the community. This work included the opening of the Albion Community Centre last year, and the planning is now underway for the fourth ice sheet at Planet Ice Maple Ridge.
We see this as an opportunity to create a large, state-of-the-art centre where people can be active & come together. To learn how residents and our user groups think the new facility will meet their needs, we conducted a series of open houses and a public survey until February 23, 2024.
The City has hired hcma architecture and design to undertake the Recreation Facility Feasibility Study. This effort will involve both community engagement and site analysis, both of which will determine the scale and type of facility and services needed to best serve the community now and into the future. The analysis will also consider leading trends and best practices research along with the extensive feedback collected during the public engagement for the 2023 Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan.
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Work on the Recreation Facility Feasibility Study began in December 2023 and is being completed in phases.
There will be two phases of public engagement, with the first phase having occurred January 22 - February 23, 2024 and the second phase beginning in June 2024. The outcomes of community engagement will help inform the development of a facility concept plan.
City staff reviewed potential private and public locations around the community for a new aquatics and arena facility. The 13-acre Hammond Community Park meets all the requirements – sufficient space, a fully serviced site, in a developed area with a growing population, accessible by transit, and near a major transportation route. It’s also owned by the City, eliminating the cost of buying land to deliver the project.
In addition, Hammond Community Centre is earmarked for accessibility and building upgrades, and the outdoor pool is nearing the end of its service life. The City approved $2.5 million to renovate the centre in 2018, but paused this work to consider broader long-term community needs determined through the PRC master plan work.
Phase 1 of the Recreation Facility Feasibility Study is now closed.
In January 2024 we began phase 1 of our community engagement to explore resident and user group needs and input for a new multi-use recreational facility at Hammond Community Park. We had an incredible number of survey responses and attendance at our Hammond area Focus Session and Open Houses at Maple Ridge Public Library, Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, and Planet Ice Arena. This was truly one of our largest engagements to date.
Thanks to all who participated to help shape our future recreation facility.
Here were the dates of our Phase 1 engagement opportunities:
Open House 1: Wednesday, Jan.31, 2024 - 5:00pm - 8:00pm at Maple Ridge Public Library
Hammond Neighbourhood Focus Session: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 - 10am - 1pm at Hammond Community Centre
Open House 2: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 - 10:00am - 1:00pm at Maple Ridge Leisure Centre
Open House 3: Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 - 4:00pm - 7:00pm at Planet Ice Arena
Focus group meetings were also be held with a variety of user groups, community groups and key partners including Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows School District No. 42.
The engagement for this project is at the "consult" level of the International Association for Public Participation's (IAP2) Spectrum of Public Participation. This means that we will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision. Learn more about how we use the Spectrum as a foundation for community engagement here!
