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A sampling of skaters at one Ottawa park are hopeful Ottawa’s new skateboard and roller sport strategy will help grow their sport.
Some of the headlines of the proposed plan from city staff are treating parks as a diverse network as well as improving the design of basic amenities like water and shade.
For skaters at Legacy Park in Centrepointe on Monday, it’s an exciting opportunity to get more people involved in the sport.
“I hope they get beginners to start skating. We [have] to increase the skate community,” said Nicholas Beaudoin.
“I love teaching the new beginners that are here how to, like, get on the board and ride with it.”
While Legacy has been used to host community events, Beaudoin said it can be tricky for new people.
“It’s not really like beginner level. The ramps are kind of big.”
Favour Agbesua, left, and Cal Kenney are novice skateboarders. (Matthew Kupfer/CBC)
Cal Kenney said he starting in parking lots before trying an official city park.
“You really have to build up to even just [get] around the foot of these ramps here.… Something more approachable would be great,” he said.
Favour Agbesua said some of the appeal of skateboarding is the welcoming culture.
“It’s nice to know that even people who’ve been doing this for a while make mistakes,” she said.
“You can skate anywhere as long as there’s a nicely paved road.”
‘A little variety’
Aaron Cayer with the Ottawa Skateboard Association said he appreciates that the city strategy reflects the input of skaters over the years and has a themed design approach.
“You can think of it like a golf course or a ski course, you don’t want the same things in every [one] , you want a little variety. That’s what that themed approach will allow for, a really unique and different design for each facility,” Cayer said.
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The city has been holding public engagement sessions at local skateparks as it works to update its skateboard strategy. Simon Smith finds out what skaters want to see when the strategy is rolled out.
The city report mentions elements that will resemble urban plazas, halfpipes, or using different materials to create unique features. The range between parks will help users improve their skills.
The roller sports it deals with include rollerblading, BMX and scooters.
Cayer is disappointed the report doesn’t mention creating an indoor park, which he describes as the number one priority for these kinds of sports. He said it not only allows for year-round practice, but would also improve accessibility.
“Programming is so much easier to do in an indoor facility . Programs for kids, kids with special needs where they need their structure. It’s a huge benefit and it is a bit of a loss that there’s an oversight. But maybe that’s for tomorrow,” he said.
Ottawa’s community services committee is going over the plan on Tuesday.