Local Lions hope to expand their Turner Park campground sooner than expected.

Demand for campsites has been brisk this year, campground committee chair Don Westman told City Council last week.

Campground managers had to turn away 94 campers in just one month this year, Westman said.

The Lions added 17 new campsites to the campground last spring. The club had planned to expand further in another two to three years, but now hope to go ahead next year, Westman said.

The Lions are asking the City of Fort Saskatchewan to lend them $150,000 to make this project happen sooner. Getting that help now would allow the club to proceed sooner without cutting support to other projects, he said.

The Turner Park campground site has proven ideal, Westman added. Its location in the river valley gives campers access to nature and Fort Saskatchewan's trail system. It is also near useful services and businesses such as grocery stores, farmers' market and even auto garages.

"The feedback has been universally good because of that location," he said.

Having the campground in Turner Park is also good for local business, he added. "In my opinion it is a huge value to the downtown."

The campground is even popular with local residents who see it as a great cheap getaway without having to pay the high cost of gas for a road trip, and for special occasions like anniversaries and birthday parties, he said.