HERALDING HAMMOND

HERALDING HAMMOND

It was a balmy Saturday morning when I cycled to the Hammond Community Centre in the community of Hammond, also known as a hamlet within the City of Maple Ridge. It has a significant history, has preserved a lot of its historic character and quaint neighbourhoods, and is home to around twelve thousand proud long term and short term residents.

The rhythm of the heartbeat of the people of Hammond hasn’t been beating like a happy drum lately; many would say the homelike feeling of the community is under threat and the anticipated redevelopment plans of a large parcel of land are making people feel uneasy, sad and worried. 

The Saturday morning and afternoon Open House session, gave everyone a chance to learn more, voice their concerns and give constructive feedback to consultants, recreation project and program staff, as well as the mayor and counselors.

Although I do not live in Hammond, I am an active aquafit enthusiast and the new development proposal currently does not include an outdoor pool. I know the argument about the viability of an outdoor pool and accept that building it to serve the aqua-community for two or three months a year sounds preposterous, and it is. 

But when logical thinking heads sit at a discussion table to work out a way to use the space year round, ideas such as a hard, flat cover over the pool in the off season makes so much sense. The seasonal pool facility then becomes multi-purpose for other outdoor activities such as shuffleboard, horseshoes, ring toss, square ball, hopscotch, badminton, poetry reading, games tables and any number of other cross-generational and cross cultural options. 

I said my piece to the project facilitators, city staff and politicians; I now need to believe my efforts were not in vain and that their note-taking, smiles and head nodding were not just to placate me. After all — politicians know that every vote matters and preserving the significance of Hammond as a unique community, and its outdoor pool as a legacy of their pride, is key when debating the aqua-component of the project.

As I strolled around the story boards and watched the video presentation, I noted a lot of negative comments on sticky notes about the larger project in general, but I also saw some constructive feedback. 

I understand nobody wants a monstrosity of a recreational facility in their backyard, but communities need recreational and cultural facilities to help keep residents of all ages active and healthy, and to give them physical, social and cultural experiences close to home. 

Sometimes it is hard to see change as progress, but the similar examples in the community, province, country and world, show that projects that involved community input, weighed pros and cons, and kept close to within budget, resulted in happy user groups and a surrounding population whose outstanding legitimate concerns turned out to be less profound than anticipated. 

I do believe architects and recreational design experts are sensitive to the impact of anything new, including parking, noise, safety and security, as are elected officials who will ultimately give final approval to such a project. In that light, I carry the flag of optimism and look forward to a similar result in the proud community of Hammond.