The City of North Vancouver is getting a net increase in Kings Mill Walk Park.
Council voted unanimously to use leftover sand from Lot 5 and leftover money from a bocce court renovation to fund two beach volleyball courts on the lip of the water just south of Harbourside Drive.
With the nets at Lot 5 folded up in anticipation of the outdoor skating rink and water play feature to be built on The Shipyards, council decided to relocate the city’s setters and spikers just east of the off-leash dog area at Kings Mill Walk.
The cost of trucking the sand over to Kings Mill will be borne by The Shipyard project as Quay Property Management gets set to remediate the site, according to a staff report.
The courts could be moved to Waterfront Park in 2018, assuming the completed Shipyards usurps Waterfront Park’s status as the city’s go-to venue for festivals.
“For the interim, I think this is an excellent location,” said Coun. Linda Buchanan.
While parking at Harbourside during the week remains “a challenge,” the courts will likely be used in evenings and weekends, according to staff.
The $37,000 price tag on the courts will be paid for out of the $100,000 budget council earmarked for renovating the bocce courts at Ray Perrault Park in 2015.
The scope of that renovation narrowed, resulting in a $55,000 surplus.
While workers haven’t finished the bocce court, there will be enough money left to do the job properly, according to a staff report.
“We’ve got a solution here before us and I think it’s good value,” said Coun. Craig Keating.
As soon as the nets came down on Lot 5 Keating said he had emails from volleyball players “wondering where they could go.”
