The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has voted in favour of a member’s motion calling for a massive increase in capital spending. Comm. Brennan Bastyovanszky’s initial motion asked the park board to seek $1.35 billion in the city’s 2027-2030 capital plan to address what he describes as “15 years of neglect” for parks and recreation facilities. The proposed spending plan included $300 million for “parks and open spaces”—including repairs to the Stanley Park seawall, the “renewal” of existing parks and the creation of new ones—as well as $50 million for “biodiversity restoration opportunities,” including reconnecting Lost Lagoon with tidal waters. The largest portion of the spending, however, is $1.08 billion for improving recreation facilities “to meet the urgent needs of a growing city.” Late Tuesday night, commissioners Scott Jensen and Tom Digby amended the motion to include an additional $50 million for aquatic facilities, including the replacement of Kitsilano Pool and planning for a new 50-metre pool. The amendment also saw the proposed $200 million for the renewal of existing community centres double to $400 million, prioritizing renewal of the Hastings, Kensington and Renfrew centres, and maintenance at all others. The total cost after the amendments is $1.43 billion. The motion cites estimates projecting that Vancouver’s population will increase by 250,000 in the coming decades, reaching almost a million residents by 2050. It also notes that the city’s department of real estate and facilities management classified 72 per cent of recreation facilities as in “poor” or “very poor” condition as of 2022. The proposal includes $300 million that would go toward the potential redevelopment of Britannia Community Centre in partnership with the Vancouver Canucks, who are rumoured to have interest in building a practice facility there. Park board commissioners do not control the size of their capital budget. Board chair Tom Digby is now directed to send a letter to Vancouver’s mayor and council outlining the board’s capital spending priorities. Mayor Ken Sim, whose ABC party holds a majority on the city council, has called for abolishing the park board and bringing its facilities and budget under council control. Such a move requires enabling legislation from the province, however, and the B.C. government has been slow to act on Sim’s request. Ultimately, the city will have to sign off on any increase to park board capital spending. Bastyovanszky told CTV News the proposal represents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for Vancouver to reinvent itself.” “The reinvigoration is needed, and I think the people of Vancouver are asking for this,” he said.
