Pickering has proposed a new skateboard spot in the West Shore Neighbourhood and wants your feedback.
The proposed site is adjacent to the West Shore Community Centre, located at 1011-1015 Bayly Street, Pickering. It’s also serviced by Durham Region Transit, with a bus stop nearby. The site is clearly visible from Bayly Street, providing for passive surveillance and is not directly adjacent to existing residences.
The city said it developed a Skateboard Park Strategy in 2017 as a supplement to its Recreation and Parks Master Plan update (learn more). The strategy helped determine existing and future needs for skateboard park facilities as well as potential locations.
Of the households surveyed as part of the strategy engagement, 8% had a family member that skateboarded in the past year, which equates to over 2,500 residents in Pickering who skateboard.
The results indicated that one community size skateboard park and five smaller skateboard facilities called “skate spots”, would be required to adequately service the residents of South Pickering. Currently Pickering only has one community sized skateboard park, located in Diana, Princess of Wales Park, and no skate spots. Skateboard parks provide an inexpensive recreational outlet for the youth of our community as well for the like-minded children and adults.
What is a skate spot
In skateboard park typologies, a skate spot is somewhere between a skate dot and a neighbourhood sized skateboard park. It is a small scale skateable space that could be located in a neighbourhood park or along a paved pedestrian trail. Skate spot sizes range from 150 sq. m. to 600 sqm. in area. (The skate spot conceptually shown on the location plan is approximately 300 sq. m. in area.) Skate spots support users of all skill levels but typically focus on features that have a relatively low impact on the site area and favour novice and intermediate level users. This type of skateboard facility tends to draw users that live locally, from 1 to 3 km away.
