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New Skatepark For Vancouver By Spring 2010?

It’s almost spring and one sure sign is the sudden swarm of skateboarders that take over the city of Vancouver. You will suddenly see skaters everywhere, but it’s really our city’s skateparks that come to life in the months ahead.

Vancouver could have a new skatepark ready to go by Spring 2010 if a proposal to build one at Knight St. and 37th Ave. gets approved at the Vancouver Park Board meeting this Thursday, April 9th.

The Vancouver Skateboard Coalition is currently trying to gain support from skateboarders, parents and members of the Kensington community, especially, since this quadrant of the city (south of 12th Ave. and East of Main St.) currently lacks a skateboard facility. As it stands there are only a handful of skateparks in the city, and half of them are often intimidating and somewhat sketchy for little dudes to go hang out at.

“There is a real lack of recreational facilities for youth in Vancouver,” says Park Board Commissioner Sarah Blyth. “It is important to evenly spread skate facilities for youth throughout the city so that they are easy to get to for kids in their own communities.”

At the meeting on Thursday the Park Board staff will present feedback from the public on the proposed skatepark, which would be similar to other smaller skateparks like Strathcona and Quilchena. Although there is a focus on Kensington residents it is important for anyone with an interest in more facilities like this to show their support. With all the grand plans for the Olympics and new Skytrain routes it’s hard to remember that even the little decisions in our city can have a huge effect on its residents.

Vancouver’s thriving skateboarding scene has already had a positive influence on generations. “One of the biggest things is community,” says Blyth, who is also a long-time skateboarder. “A skatepark is a place to meet up, make friends, and have a good time. Like-minded individuals having fun, setting goals and accomplishing them. Older folks mentoring younguns. A place where culture can grow.”

Members of the public can attend the meeting or give feedback beforehand on the Vancouver Park Board website.

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Fresh from Calgary’s SAIT with a journalism diploma, Rhianon Bader did not really know anything about the world and thought this might be problematic. After six months traveling around Latin America with her skateboard and camera, she took her BA Hons. in Political Science and International Relations from UBC. In these four years she invested $450 in an old Honda motorcycle, lived in France and Spain, and wrote for news and skateboarding publications. She currently lives in East Vancouver, and works as a freelance writer and copy editor.

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There are 3 comments

  1. How about the west side? Both my husband and 11 year old son skateboard under the viaduct. We won’t let him go there on his own. It would be great if they would build something similar in Kitsilano or thereabouts…somewhere closer to home where we would know he’d be safe.