WATCH: Three years after it was built at a cost of $200,000, Vancouver Parks Board is considering tearing down a skateboard park in Mount Pleasant because of noise complaints. Nadia Stewart reports.
The skateboard park at Ontario Street and 16th Avenue opened just three years ago. Costing $200,000 to build, it replaced a popular outdoor pool that had been recently demolished.
Now it appears the skate park could be demolished too.
“It’s unfortunate that people can’t look past it and realize what a benefit it is to the community. There’s always going to be noise in urban settings, and it would be nice if we could allow that a little bit,” says Char Hunter, whose daughter regularly uses the park.
The Vancouver Park Board is considering a variety of options, including total demolishing and making the area a green space, in response to noise complaints from nearby residents. They’ve told the city it gets used after dark and by more experienced skateboarders that it wasn’t intended for.
To that end, the Park Board is considering renovating the park to make it easier and less appealing to adults, or to create a new skate park in Jonathan Rogers Park, several blocks away.
“None of these have any positivity to them. There’s no silver lining to the skateboarding community,” says Jeff Cole, President of the Vancouver Skateboard Coalition President. He’s arguing that a soundproof wall would be the best solution if noise is truly the issue.
The Vancouver Park Board wouldn’t comment on the issue today, but a public hearing is scheduled for April 27. In the meantime, skateboarders like Stone Friesen are hopeful the park stays.
“It’s a gem. It’s a nice tucked away little space outside of the downtown core that everyone can come and warm up and just have fun,” he says.