THOSE who use the sportsplex this season may notice an extra bounce in their step now that a new floor made from recycled tires has been installed.
The city's leisure services department received a $15,000 grant earlier this year to help finance the $34,000 project and the floor was installed just in time for skating seson.
The grant came from Tire Stewardship Program BC, the agency which charges tire buyers a fee to pay for various tire recycling projects.
It offers matching grants who then use products made from recycled rubber tires and the arena project fit the bill.
In total, 3900 square feet of floor at the sportsplex was covered with Dynoflex, which is manufactured from recycled tires in B.C.
The material for the job weighed about 8000 pounds, said the city's leisure services director Carmen Didier.
“A local company sells the floor material which gave us a sense of comfort should there be any problems with it at a future date,” she said. The city purchased the flooring from Your Decor.
“We always try and shop locally,” said Didier.
To secure the grant, the city needed support of arena users, which Didier said was easy to get.
“When someone is wearing $1,000 or $1,500 skates and their (blades) are being damaged because the floors are so old they're probably going to be okay with it,” she said.