Mahon Park Improvements

Notice of Demolition
Demolition of the Horseshoe Club structures begins in September in preparation for the construction of the sports court and dog area.

Mahon Park is one of the City’s largest and oldest parks and has a well-established history in both sports and its natural setting. Following completion of recent renovations to Fen Burdett Stadium field, focus has shifted to renovating and revitalizing the west corner of the park, site of the former horseshoe club facility.

The facility is located just north of the Margaret Fulton Centre near 16th Street and Forbes Avenue, and includes a number of covered horseshoe pitches and the old clubhouse building which are situated on the site of the City’s decommissioned outdoor pool. Constructed in 1949 at the edge of the Wagg Creek ravine, the pool was closed and filled in the 1980s and in the 1990s was repurposed as a horseshoe facility operated by the Horseshoe Club. The club disbanded in the early 2000’s and the facility has seen limited use since that time. The building is now at the end of life, and there is an opportunity to repurpose this space to provide new programming opportunities for the community.

In addition to the two open houses, staff directly engaged with stakeholders, including North Shore Pickleball Club, Mahon Park Daycare, Margret Fulton Centre, Cascadia Society, North Vancouver Sports Council, and interested residents.  Overall, there was an excellent response to the consultation process with a total of 345 questionnaires received.

In general, there was strong support to improve the Horseshoe Club area and re-purpose the decommissioned pool into a multi-purpose sports court able to accommodate basketball as well as dedicated pickleball courts (the first such courts on the North Shore). There was also support for a proposed off-leash area, planting more trees, improved picnic facilities, and additional walking paths.

Dogs are currently permitted on-leash in the forested trails of the ravine portions of Mahon Park, but are prohibited in the open grass area adjacent to the Horseshoe Club, playground and Fen Burdett Stadium. However, there is frequent unsanctioned off-leash activity in the open grass area adjacent to the Horseshoe Club resulting in complaints and degradation of the park. While not all park users support allowing dogs in the park, a fully fenced space will address the demands, reduce user conflicts and minimize impacts on the rest of the park.

 

Public Engagement February 2019 - What We Heard

In addition to the two open houses, staff directly engaged with stakeholders, including North Shore Pickleball Club, Mahon Park Daycare, Margret Fulton Centre, Cascadia Society, North Vancouver Sports Council, and interested residents.  Overall, there was an excellent response to the consultation process with a total of 345 questionnaires received.

In general, there was strong support to improve the Horseshoe Club area and re-purpose the decommissioned pool into a multi-purpose sports court able to accommodate basketball as well as dedicated pickleball courts (the first such courts on the North Shore). There was also support for a proposed off-leash area, planting more trees, improved picnic facilities, and additional walking paths.

Dogs are currently permitted on-leash in the forested trails of the ravine portions of Mahon Park, but are prohibited in the open grass area adjacent to the Horseshoe Club, playground and Fen Burdett Stadium. However, there is frequent unsanctioned off-leash activity in the open grass area adjacent to the Horseshoe Club resulting in complaints and degradation of the park. While not all park users support allowing dogs in the park, a fully fenced space will address the demands, reduce user conflicts and minimize impacts on the rest of the park.

 

A wide variety of preliminary ideas were presented for discussion including improvements to the adjacent basketball court, the addition of an artificial turf multi-use golf area and a picnic area. Other ideas presented were focused on a multi-use sports court to accommodate pickleball and basketball, with the potential for a small golf chipping and putting green, a toy box with outdoor games, and improved picnic area.

There was an excellent initial response to the project with a total of 255 questionnaires completed, including 171 online submissions and 84 received in paper form.

In general, there was strong support to improve the horseshoe club area with new amenities and programming, and in addition to the ideas presented by the City participants identified a number of other ideas for consideration.

There was very strong support for including sport courts in a portion of the site that could accommodate pickleball, which is a fast growing racket sport that currently has limited outdoor venues in North Vancouver. There was also support for retaining the existing natural features of the area and planting more trees, improving the picnic facilities, basketball courts and creating additional walking paths. The notion of including a small golf practice area (similar to Sam Walker Park) or sand volleyballs courts was also presented.

In addition to the ideas presented in the storyboards, the most common suggestion from the community was the addition of a fenced off-leash dog area.

 

Public Engagement September 2018 - What We Heard

A wide variety of preliminary ideas were presented for discussion including improvements to the adjacent basketball court, the addition of an artificial turf multi-use golf area and a picnic area. Other ideas presented were focused on a multi-use sports court to accommodate pickleball and basketball, with the potential for a small golf chipping and putting green, a toy box with outdoor games, and improved picnic area.

There was an excellent initial response to the project with a total of 255 questionnaires completed, including 171 online submissions and 84 received in paper form.

In general, there was strong support to improve the horseshoe club area with new amenities and programming, and in addition to the ideas presented by the City participants identified a number of other ideas for consideration.

There was very strong support for including sport courts in a portion of the site that could accommodate pickleball, which is a fast growing racket sport that currently has limited outdoor venues in North Vancouver. There was also support for retaining the existing natural features of the area and planting more trees, improving the picnic facilities, basketball courts and creating additional walking paths. The notion of including a small golf practice area (similar to Sam Walker Park) or sand volleyballs courts was also presented.

In addition to the ideas presented in the storyboards, the most common suggestion from the community was the addition of a fenced off-leash dog area.

 


Next Steps

Staff will now work with the consultant team to complete the detailed design based on the feedback received. The design will feature dedicated pickleball courts and a shared basketball court, fenced off-leash dog area, habitat restoration of the ravine edge and additional picnic tables.  An artificial turf play space will be optional depending on final cost estimates.

The detailed design process is proceeding, followed by a tender process. If there any construction proposals received within budget, construction will begin Fall 2019.

Download Concept Plan - pdf



Contact Info

Adam Vasilevich, Parks and Greenways Planner
Email: avasilevich@cnv.org

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