The City of North Vancouver will be spending $500,000 on a new picnic area as well as a Pitch and Putt project at Mahon Park, west of the stadium.

The project would replace the old Horseshoe buildings which housed the North Shore Horseshoe Club until the club disbanded in the early 2000s, staff told the council. Since then, the building has had minimal use and a recent assessment indicates significant amount of work would need to upgrade the facility if it were to safely remain in the park.

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Mahon Park Picnic Area and Pitch and Putt project would remove the old building and surrounding concrete to create additional open space that will be used for an expanded picnic area and three-hole pitch and putt. As the existing structures are immediately adjacent to the Wagg Creek ravine, their removal would also expand the forested edge of the park, enhancing the streamside habitat, according to the staff.

An artificial turf would be used for the pitch and putt, which would provide a low maintenance. Staff will also investigate the potential to re-use portions of the old artificial turf at Sutherland Field which is slated for removal in 2019.

Staff soon plans a community consultation on the design of the park. Whatever the consultation and the final design may be, staff plans to maintain the existing basketball court as well as the open grass space west of the Fen Burdett Stadium. Community consultation and design is expected to be complete by the spring of 2018.

Construction will begin in the summer, and the project is expected to be complete this year. Councillor Rod Clark said he wasn’t sure a three-hole pitch and putt along a very deep ravine was the right thing to do, and said he would like staff to inform the council on what the community thinks of the project.

Councillor Linda Buchanan said she is glad the basketball court will be staying as it would enhance the whole area and cater to a different demographic than children.

Mayor Darrell Mussatto said the community has been very supportive of the improvements made to the park over the past few years, including the new artificial turf field, community track, and improvements to the Fen Burdett Stadium.

The playground and spray park are popular destinations and the concession stand is expected to be re-opening which would make the park a ‘people place’ for the City of North Vancouver, staff told the council in its report.