The Queen’s Park Residents’ Association is saying PIMFY to a new skate park.
Kathleen Langstroth, president of Queen’s Park Residents’ Association, recently told city council that residents would like to see the new skate park moved front and centre, rather than tucked away in the park. With the existing skate park at Mercer Stadium needing to be relocated to make way for construction of the new high school, council has approved in-principle a skate park site on the former Arenex property in Queen’s Park.
“This is not a Not In My Back Yard – this is more of a please Put It in My Front Yard,” Langstroth said. “We are concerned that by tucking it away inside the park it may not be as visible to everybody and as inviting as it could be if it was more exposed.”
Representatives of the residents’ association met with a city staffer and suggested the city locate it at the corner of the Sixth Avenue and McBride Boulevard in Queen’s Park or near the all-weather field next to behind the Glenbrook fire hall.
“Our logic behind that is just to make it more inviting, to make it more visible so that all people can see it and it can be used to the maximum potential that it has,” Langstroth said.
In addition to being dark at night and not as inviting as it could be, Langstroth said there are trees around the Arenex site, which could be problematic.
“We realize that the skateboarders need a clean surface for a safe ride,” she said. “Those trees have a great deal of impact on the surface of the skateboard park.”
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said the debris from trees is something the city should consider, as is the need to select a location that considers Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.
“Being tucked away, you sort of worry about the lack of a CPTED approach. I do like to see them more close to public roads so there is more eyes on the street watching. I think the one we have on Sixth Street, having it so close to a main traffic area in a park allows people to not get too carried away in there,” he said. “I also worry about the younger kids who want to use it. If it starts to become a bit of a hangout for older kids because there isn’t that visual concerns to them, it might create an issue with younger kids being able to use it.”
Dean Gibson, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said the city has endorsed the former Arenex location in-principle and is beginning consultation on the project, with open houses set to take place in January.
