Moncton examining recreation needs for coming decade

Bryan Butler says Moncton's north end neighbourhood needs a public pool.

The city councillor who represents a ward that's swollen to more than 25,000 residents says it needs more sports infrastructure.

"I know we have the numbers, the interest, and the growth," Butler said in an interview. He said young families should be able to swim without needing to drive downtown, or to Riverview and Dieppe.

His belief, raised regularly during council meetings, appeared to get support last week as councillors were offered an outline of Moncton's new recreation master plan.

The city has hired Trace Planning and Design to carry out the work, whichincludes examining what recreation infrastructure the city already has, what's missing, and what may be needed in the future.

Jocelyn Cohoon, Moncton's director of recreation, said last week that the plan will be a guide for council to use over the next decade when making decisions about its facilities and budgets.

"It's not the be-all, end-all that if this says this, we must do this," Cohoon said.

Jim Scott with Trace told councillors an analysis by the firm suggests the city needs another outdoor pool. It now has two, one in Centennial Park and another in the east end.

A slide shown to councillors suggests a ratio of one outdoor pool per 25,000 people. Based on that, the city should have 3.19 outdoor pools this year, and 3.59 pools by 2032.

The presentation noted the city has two indoor pools, one at the YMCA and another at University of Moncton. It says the city, based on a ratio of one indoor pool per 36,000 people, should have 2.22 pools this year and would need a third by 2050.

The city expects to study the feasibility of another pool. The 2022 budget includes $80,000 for implementing the recreation master plan and a feasibility study for a pool, considering what type it should be and where it could be located.

So far there's been no cost estimate for a new pool. TheCentennial Park pool opened in 2020 cost almost $6 million, while the east end pool opened the year before cost $2.3 million.

Butler said with the province hosting the 2029 Canada Summer Games, there may be federal or provincial funding available for a venue. The specific location in the province where the games will take place will be determined by 2025.

Cohoon told councillors last week that the city is looking into whether the games would require 25 metre or 50 metre swim lanes for competitions.

It's unclear when that study will be complete.

The recreation master plan examines more than just pools. Scott said one aspect that's come up several times is the need for more community gardens, particularly in the growing core.

The city is also working on a separate active transportation plan, touching on things like bike lanes, that is expected to be presented to council in the coming months.

Several public meetings about the recreation plan are expected to be held in the coming weeks, beginning April 28 at the YMCA in the north end. No times were listed and the city didn't provide further information Tuesday.

Cohoon said the city willseek feedback about whether itgot things right and what it may have missed.

"This is sort of our last kick at the can for final input before we develop or the consultant develops the draft report that would come to council for final approval," Cohoon said.