The last remaining touches to complete the Oceanside Community Track are expected to be completed by the end of June.
Qualicum School District 69 has recommended the official opening of the six-lane rubberized track at Ballenas Secondary to take place on Friday, Sept. 12.
"If we have the ceremony on Sept. 12, we will be able to officially open the new track, the new field with new green grass and the construction fencing removed, the new sign, all with students and community members who can join in the ceremony and take the first official lap," said Rudy Terpstra, chair of the steering committee. "We do appreciate that everyone wants to get this project finalized, but please be assured the end of the project and beginning of this great new facility is very close. We anticipate that the track will be open in the summer for the community to enjoy and we will announce this through a press release."
The inner grassy field of the track, which is used for soccer, football and other sports, is still re-seeding and some construction needed to be undertaken. The final layer of the rubber running surface is expected to be undertaken later this month but will be dependent on six days of no rain.
Permanent 4x8, double-sided signage has also been commissioned and will be visible from Renz Road. It will highlight logos and give recognition to all the municipal partners that include the City of Parksville, Regional District of Nanaimo, Town of Qualicum Beach, Qualicum School District 69 and the Canada Community Works Fund that provided the much-needed funding to help make the project a reality.
The fundraising efforts were led by the Qualicum School District track steering committee, Oceanside Track Society and the Oceanside Track and Field Club, who all will be recognized in the signage along with more than 100 businesses, individuals and community groups that generously supported the upgrade of the Ballenas track from a cinder surface to an all-season rubberized track.
Terpstra said a huge thank you goes out to the district maintenance team under the direction of Phil Munro, Koers Engineering and the Marathon Surfaces team for donating time and labour allowing the provision of the best-quality rubber surface for the base price.
