Guelph skatepark to be removed, leaving the community with no where to go

Zack MacRae

“We want to get it right.” Scott Hannah, manager of development and parks planning.

Last Saturday the weather was beautiful. It was the perfect day to get outside and do something productive and active underneath the beaming sun. Downtown there were people window shopping on Wyndham St. and in the York Rd. park, a competitive game of ultimate Frisbee got underway. But in the west end, the Deerpath skate park, seemed desolate and eerily quite. In the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday, this small and unimaginative space remained unused and neglected by members of the public and skateboarders alike. In fact, in the next month, the Deerpath park will be packed up and put into storage because of the grief it caused local residents.

So is this evidence that there is just not enough interest in skateboarding to necessitate a space for skateboarders in Guelph? Or has this band-aid solution proposed by the city in 2006 finally fallen off?

Scott Hannah, manager of development and parks planning for the city is leading an initiative to reach a solution to this ongoing issue.

“We want to get it right,” said Hannah. “Part of the council direction is to set up a city wide skate park study. We are going to get together a group of 10 or 12 individuals from different walks of life. Some skate park users, some from the youth group, neighbourhood representatives, councilors, and anybody with an interest.”

The mandate of the group is to relocate the problematic Deerpath park to another less controversial area.

The problem with the Deerpath skate park for residents in the area had to do with noise and vandalism. A study was done that showed the park to be under violation of applicable Ministry of Environment noise guidelines for that residential area. Vandalism was also a problem that residents faced, with broken glass and spray paint now littering the area.

The problem with the Deerpath skate park does seem to stem from its location: it appears out of sight and out of mind for the majority of residents who aren’t in direct contact with the park. The mediocre, pre-fabricated obstacles at the park are used by skateboarders in the area, but the space is not respected by skateboarders or residents of the area.

A growing trend among progressive cities in Canada like Vancouver and Toronto is to provide publicly inspired spaces where skateboarders and the public interact in a meaningful way.

Projects like the Vancouver Skateboard Plaza located in the heart of downtown Vancouver give skateboarders a venue that they respect to further their skills, and the public the opportunity to view the technicality and skill required from stations located in and around the plaza.

Although Guelph has a vibrant skateboarding community, come summer time there will be no place for skateboarders to do what they do best. Currently, a city bylaw prevents skateboarders from skating on both streets and sidewalks. So where are they to go?

Many skateboarders, in order to find a challenging place to skate, must travel to other towns in the surrounding area, an option that is not acceptable on a daily basis.

The cities current strategic plan is looking at taking the problematic Deerpath park and multiplying it by three. They are proposing putting in similar pre-fabricated and movable parks at the West End Community Centre and the proposed South End Community Centre to accommodate the youth. But if it didn’t work once, why would it work a second and a third time?

Hopefully, the city of Guelph will reassess their approach to the issue to find a location and a plan that takes into account the best interest of those who will use it.

Although with the initiative lead by Hannah, the city is leaning toward the right direction, to reach a desirable solution, it will take a realization among the public that skateboarding is a progressive and positive outlet for kids of all ages.

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