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Facelift for Lower Sunningdale Park

The city received a $32,500 recreation grant from Columbia Basin Trust for respective work
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Funding to update Lower Sunningdale Park comes from the final round of a Trust program that directed $9.4 million over three years into new or existing recreational infrastructure. (Sheri Regnier photo)

An aging park in Lower Sunningdale will get a facelift this year after the city received a $32,500 recreation grant from Columbia Basin Trust (Trust).

The funding will cover 50 per cent of revamp costs to convert the old tennis court into a multi-use playing surface for basketball, shinny, non-permanent pickleball and other racquet sports.

The project’s scope includes asphalt repair and court re-surfacing, as well as equipment purchase and installation.

A phased-plan for Lower Sunningdale Park was developed back in 2012, which included renovations to the existing tennis court, the addition of a park washroom, the installation of a secondary hard court and a children’s playground.

The following year, city council invested $50,000 to complete the site’s first upgrade, the installation of a new playground for children ages two to 12.

Further park improvements have since been deferred, but remain part of Trail’s “Master Plan” for leisure services over the next 10 years and beyond.

The money comes from the final cycle of the Trust’s three-year $9.4 million initiative that directed funds into building new recreation infrastructure or upgrading existing infrastructure. Projects ranged from backcountry trail networks, to splash parks, disc golf courses and skate parks.

Nearby projects approved in the last $3-million cycle include: $32,000 for the Black Jack Ski Club to add a trail to the biathlon system at Hanna Creek; $15,000 for the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society to build a multi-use trail connecting Rossland to Red Mountain Resort; $35,000 for the Oasis Recreation Society to construct a community pickleball court; and $46,400 to the Genelle Recreation Society to build a community spray park.

In total, the program funded 153 projects including over 350 kilometres on 68 trails, 53 outdoor facilities like playgrounds, pickleball and tennis courts, and 15 other facilities like riding arenas and gymnasiums. Projects are located across the region in 42 Basin communities.

The city received a $150,000 grant from the Trust’s recreation infrastructure program last year, for the development of the Trail All Wheel Park.

Work on the $625,000 project is expected to break ground near the Gyro Park boat launch this spring.



Sheri Regnier

About the Author: Sheri Regnier

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