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Shuswap disc golf course nearly finished but parking lot may slow momentum

City of Salmon Arm wants to see place to park ready before welcome sign adorns course
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In August 2019, Duncan Walters stands in the area where he planned to build a disc golf course north of the Salmon Arm airport. Work is now nearing completion. (File photo)

If you like golf – except perhaps for those unwieldy clubs – you’re in luck. A disc golf course for Salmon Arm is getting closer to completion.

Proponent Duncan Walters came to council in April 2019 about his wish to build an 18-hole course on the municipal parcel north of the Salmon Arm airport and south of 10th Avenue SE. The parcel is roughly 3.25 hectares or eight acres and provides variable terrain.

Walters said disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in North America and would be a benefit to the town.

“I wouldn’t call myself a diehard disc golfer,” he said in 2019. “It’s something I’m interested in. I wanted a place for people to go who have limited barriers to entry.”

He pointed out that regular golf can be expensive.

Read more: Salmon Arm disc golf proponent eager to give back to community

Read more: Proposed disc golf course for Salmon Arm mapped on long, narrow property

Walters wrote a letter to council recently. He asked permission to place a welcome sign at the beginning of the course. He told the Observer that work is going well and construction is nearly complete.

“We’re just finishing the last number of tee boxes; we’re hoping to get mayor and council, at least a few of them, to socially distance for a game.”

However, a few hurdles remain.

A dilapidated old building on the property needs to be dealt with for liability reasons. Another expense is a needed parking lot.

At the May 11 council meeting, Coun. Chad Eliason requested support for the project. He noted that $20,000 to build a gravel parking lot at the site was one of the budget items that had recently been “parked” due to city budget constraints created by COVID-19.

Rob Niewenhuizen, the city’s director of public works and engineering, said city staff have been in contact with Walters and believe he is funding the signage himself. But Niewenhuizen emphasized that staff do not want a sign to go up until access and the parking lot are in place.

Commented Eliason re the sign: “I just wanted to make sure that we could work on it while we work to unpark the money to park.”



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The city-owned property at 4380 10th Ave. SE, north of the Salmon Arm airport, is the site of a proposed disk golf course. (City of Salmon Arm image)


Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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