Planning for Future Growth

The site of the proposed recreation centre already includes a number of new developments such as the Halifax West High School, Keshen Goodman Library, baseball fields and the indoor/outdoor Subway Soccer Facility. There are future plans to develop walking trails.

Higher than anticipated use

Halifax West High School: student population exceeds capacity

Keshen Goodman Library: highly-used and too small

Each of the new facilities built on the mainland common have documented higher than anticipated use:

• Halifax West High School opened in January 2003 with a student population of 800. The current student population exceeds the school's capacity of 1,500.
• The Keshen Goodman Library has experienced an 81.8% increase in circulation since it opened in August of 2001 and in 2003/04 recorded annual visits of 390,000. Usage of this library is actually higher than the library on Spring Garden Road. Discussions about expanding the library are now underway.
• The all weather outdoor soccer fields owned by HRM are busy from April to November with 20 organized leagues using 3,000 hours and attracting 81,000 participants and spectators.
• The indoor soccer facility operated by means of Soccer Nova Scotia operates year round. Soccer Nova Scotia has plans to build expanded capacity to this centre either on the mainland common or elsewhere to meet player demand.

Life-span of existing infrastructure

While existing infrastructure mentioned above is new and may require expansion, replacement will not be necessary for many years. However, there should be considerable thought given to planning for expanding existing facilities, in particular, the 40-year-old Centennial Arena. Ideally, a new arena with one or more ice surfaces could be a part of the mainland common recreation complex.

Long term vision

The area surrounding theMainland Common has seen significant growth over the past 10 years, in particular, the Parkland corridor. In addition, the land directly beside the mainland common area is being developed into a sub-division (Mount Royale) that will house an estimated 4,000-5,000 people. A long term vision that is coupled with future population growth and sustainability is needed for the mainland common recreation centre.