For all the recreational walkers in North Burnaby who got used to big puddles and rock dust, a new rubberized track at Confederation Park will be a welcome change.
When the city unveils the track on Saturday, nobody will be more proud than Burnaby parks, recreation and cultural services director Dave Ellenwood.
"This is huge," said Ellenwood. "The park and its facilities have been so popular and well-used and we're so happy to be able to get this new rubberized track."
The rubberized track, which lies on top of new asphalt and is encircled by a concrete border, was budgeted for $620,000, but came in under budget at $560,000, according to Ellenwood.
Ellenwood said while the old gravel track served the community well, constant maintenance costs were starting to grow to the point where Burnaby councillors asked if replacing the track with a new surface was economically feasible.
"The cost came in at a number that people were comfortable with," said Ellenwood, who added that the rubberized surface actually only accounted for between 20 and 25 per cent of the final cost.
"There's a Metro Vancouver water main that's under the track so we had to excavate and then put structural fill and then asphalt. We added the concrete border and then the rubberized surface. - It's a recreational grade surface that will be a great community amenity."
Also as part of the renovation is recreation-quality lighting - more for security and to increase community usage during shorter light hours in the winter months and even some improvements near the adjacent cenotaph, including widening the main path, repaving the asphalt walks and improving the drainage.
Dave Taylor, president of Branch 148 of the Royal Canadian Legion, suggested the improvements near the cenotaph and the city was happy to be able to do the work.
Taylor and the Legion, which help organize ele-mentary school track meets, may be able to use the new track for those meets, but no final decisions have been made at this point.
On Saturday, the official grand opening ceremony will start at 10 a.m. and include a 10: 30 a.m. community walk and refresh-ments.
The public is encouraged to bring their walking shoes and participate in the community walk.
The park and track are located at 240 Willingdon Ave.
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