The City of Burnaby engaged Binnie’s Design Studio to expand the existing tennis facility at Squint Lake Park to include four new, dedicated pickleball courts and three newly surfaced tennis courts with eight overlapping pickleball courts.
Through thoughtful design, we reached beyond the goal of expansion by increasing the comfort, accessibility, and safety of park users and enhancing the local ecosystem. We considered the park users from all angles—the athletes, spectators, and bystanders—as well as the current and future demographics of the area. By designing to the needs of the various park users, our design provides comfort for all groups and makes everyone feel welcome in the space, including acoustic abatement measures. We also kept accessibility and safety in mind by reducing the potential of surface material to move from one surface to another, which reduced the trip hazards and potential damage to the surface of the sports court. Small design measures were able to help enhance the local environment. By removing invasive species adjacent to the tennis court, and to instead introduce species that increase biodiversity. The grading design was used to direct stormwater into landscape areas for infiltration, rather than into the storm system to help protect the Eagle Creek watershed.
