Excitement abounded when the long-awaited and much-needed Cloverley Elementary School was announced. Opening in the 2026/2027 school year, it will serve 585 students and be a model of sustainability and future-forward learning. However, local reaction turned to horror upon learning of School District 44’s inconceivable decision to place the new, larger school on the east side of their property rather than starting at the original abandoned site on the west.
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This will needlessly destroy the beloved and highly-used 44-year-old Cloverley Park. In all weather, this playground is alive with the happy sounds of children. The pasture is the scene of countless sports activities and family gatherings. Dog walkers, runners, and neighbours use the paths, treasuring the beautiful maples and verdant green space. And there is no better, safer toboggan hill in the city limits! In last week’s snow, the slopes rang with the happy laughter of 50 kids and parents.
Yet the school district plans to pave this park and build a parking lot! A decision the entire neighbourhood considers madness. Their plans show over 7000 m2 sitting completely unused on the original west side of the property. Were that same space to be left on the east side instead, Cloverley Park could remain until just past the playground, saving the majority of it from destruction.
Everyone wants this school here; they want it in the right place. There is plenty of room for the school on the west and a smaller park on the east. We want SD 44 to “SHIFT IT WEST” a mere 54 meters. Jacqui Stewart, Secretary-Treasurer for SD 44 stated at the January Trustee meeting that they would not “consider significant changes …[of] the site location.] A simple shift is not a significant change.
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The SD44 website lists the many admirable factors, including “site topography limitations, geotechnical analysis, structural, seismic and civil requirements, plus the construction costs associated with developing a new school on the west and east locations of the site.”
Those costs, however, do not account for the enormous cost to the community – in quality of life, health, and vital green space – of losing a park that has been there for decades. Nor do taxpayers know the differential costs between buildings on the west and east sides. The school district has refused to release that information, including slow-walking a Freedom of Information Request. Claims of seismic concerns were refuted by their data.
If the citizens of North Vancouver are to sacrifice a decades-old park and a beloved community asset is to be destroyed, then we have the right to scrutinize the detailed data and costs on why. Good answers will be forthcoming at the “Public Information Night” this coming Wednesday, January 31st, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Education Services Center (2121 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver).
Hopefully, the SD44 is open to reconsidering a simple shift on the property. There is, after all, no good time to make a terrible decision.
Alison Shaw lives across from Cloverley Park and has a first-hand view of the joy, health, and community gathering this beloved park gives to our neighbourhood, along with its vital role in the green interconnected ecosystem of the North Shore.
Thanks for this excellent coverage of the situation.
Well said.
Community and taxpayers want to be heard.
Lack of foresight and vision of the few in charge of decisions in this project need to held accountable .
Loss Park space should be non negotiable option.
While I agree with Ms. Shaw regarding maintaining a park on the property, the bigger issue in the neighbourhood regarding the new school is the ongoing major traffic issues. As late as today, traffic was at a complete standstill in the neighbourhood and surrounding streets. The City of North Vancouver has failed to address this since removing all the failed ‘traffic calming’ measures in the spring of 2021. Whether the school is on the east or west side of the property, traffic shortcutting in addition to the added 700 students and staff will continue to exacerbate an already untenable situation. The $200 million dollar Lower Lynn Interchange project has failed to deliver any resolutions. The City has known about these issues since 2016 and has chosen to focus its priorities elsewhere. I am not confident moving forward that SD 44 has a complete grasp on the complexity of the traffic patterns in our neighbourhood. They will ignore this issue at their (and our) peril.
Amen! Last night was horrific, as it is so many times over the year. It’s a very complex traffic system, and very prone to gridlock. At the very least Hendry & Keith will need to become a regular (as opposed to pedestrian-controlled) intersection with left turn arrows going west on Keith and north on Hendry. Maybe even at Keith & Cloverley, as well, and heavens knows how that will worsen traffic on Keith in both directions. I also suspect that a 1-way system has been under discussion for the block, to handle school drop-off/pick-up. But we need the school, so this is yet another argument for having it on the west side of the property as the majority of the students served would be one block closer and more likely to walk. I am envisioning most parents are going to be driving their students to and from school. I can’t understand why they are not having vehicle access off Shavington where a waiting area with no parking allowed is already in place to handle a quick entrance and then exit of the less-dangerous slope onto Hendry and quickly back to Keith. Can’t wait to see the “traffic studies” on Wednesday night.