(InsideToronto, Mar 5/09) - Skatepark site chosen

Skatepark site chosen

Eighth Street Parkette location overwhelmingly embraced

By TAMARA SHEPHARD

March 05, 2009 2:20 PM

Eighth Street Parkette could become the site later this year of a long-anticipated $500,000 skateboard park in south Etobicoke.

Tasked with site selection, a community working group of 12 people, including skaters, residents, business owners, transit users and youth, announced its recommendation Tuesday night at Mimico Centennial Library. The group met four times in December and January.

Most of the approximately 100 residents in attendance embraced the preferred site.

That's a stark contrast to community outrage expressed in 2006 citing ecological, historical and recreational issues with a city recommendation, later abandoned, to build the skateboard park in the naturalized, lakefront Colonel Samuel Smith Park.

"The size is perfect for a skateboard park, and it's also compatible with existing neighbourhood stuff like a police station, fire hall, swimming pool, basketball court, park and restaurants," said Lynn Bailey, who sat on the working group and lives in the co-op adjacent to Eighth Street Parkette.

The skateboard park is proposed to be a minimum 900 square metres. It would consume one-quarter to one-third of the 3.2-hectare parkette at Eighth and Birmingham streets, said Susan Korrick, supervisor of capital projects with the city's parks, forestry and recreation department.

"I've lived in the area. It's a very family-oriented community with tons of skaters in that proposed area. It would be the optimum place to put it," said Sam Mauerhofer, a skater.

Resident Derrick Hudson disagreed.

"That area is the only greenspace for a distance north of lakeshore," Hudson said. "In the summer, children and families go to that park every day. There's kids on swings, playing cricket and soccer. It's organized and it works and it's the only place people have to go. I really think the skateboard park should be put somewhere else."

Initially, 20 potential sites were identified. Safety, access, "negligible" environmental impact, expansion potential, proximity to services, and compatibility with neighbouring uses criteria was then applied, which narrowed the sites down to nine.

Four city parks were then considered "practical locations," said Bob Poldon, president of the Mimico Residents' Association, who sits on the working group: Connorvale, Ourland, Amos Waites and Eighth Street.

Concerns over lighting and noise expressed by one woman who lives in a co-op adjacent is unfounded, said Ariel Stagni, with New Line Skateparks, a firm which most recently designed a park in Brantford.

"Studies show skateboarding is equivalent to the noise you'd get from a children's soccer game or people talking," Stagni said. "The lighting used in skateparks is not the sport lighting of soccer pitches or baseball diamonds. It's a lot lower lighting."

Skaters embraced the location.

"Skateboarding has had a huge positive impact on my life," said Rob Mark, a skater who sat on the working group. "You build confidence and friendships out of it. This provides a space for skateboarders to go, an official place that's set aside for them to be safe, feel safe and have fun."

Ward 6 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) Councillor Mark Grimes said he plans to hold a second public meeting, likely before month's end, to gain input into the plan from residents neighbouring Eighth Street Parkette.

Offering education on skateboarding, one of the world's fastest-growing sports, is also on the agenda.

"There's a lot of misconceptions about skateboarding culture," Grimes said yesterday in an interview. "We've come this far. We want to make sure we do our homework, and get this done right."

Grimes said he plans to consult with Ward 31 (Beaches-East York) Councillor Janet Davis about the East York Skatepark opened last year in Stan Wadlow Park. There, parents and kids sat on a committee to guide the project, he said.

Emulating an urban streetscape, the East York skatepark comprised of a concrete bowl, stairs and ramps is known to attract hundreds of spectators.

A technical assessment lies ahead, then the proposal becomes a city capital project. Funding is secured for it in the 2009 budget, Grimes said.

Once a project manager is assigned by the city, a request for proposals will go out to consultants and landscape architects. Design of the project is to include consultation with residents, Korrick said.

Grimes said he expects the skateboard park could open this fall.

"I'm determined to deliver a skateboard park to the youth," Grimes told residents at the end of the 90-minute meeting. "There are lots of good things going on in the Lakeshore. It would be fabulous to have this for skaters and parents not to have to drive to Oakville or Mississauga. It would be great to have it in the community."