Ontario's Worst Bowls
Warning: This is a tongue in cheek article.
Included are the reasons these bowls didn't make the 'Ontario's Best Bowls' list. The worst is first and this article is padded for length. Some of these bowl are fun and you should totally go ride them. Just not Dryden.
Dryden, ON
A, then four year old, park in Northern Ontario looked okay from afar but but was far from okay.
Pre-cast concrete was shipped to the site rather than the park being poured in place.
The result was a cracked...
...and broken...
...and shifted park
It was actually too dangerous to skateboard in this bowl.
The welds had snapped.
The pre-cast concrete had broken...
...there huge gaps with filler that had also disintegrated.
Orillia, ON
Orillia has a wonderful location for their skatepark. It was built in 1999, an era when skatepark design was in it's infancy.
The transition to 'vert' is kinked(concave? oververt?).
The coping (added later?) sits on top on the flat.
Bike tire tracks made in the fresh cement were never fixed.
(Update - March 2021 The tire tracks have been buffed and filled and the 'coping' has been removed. Local advocates are working on getting a new park)
Icelands - Mississauga, ON
Not a bad design but this bowl is showing its age. The drain is in the middle of the park but water pools at both ends
The coping has cracked and come apart.
Some of the concrete has degraded under the coping
The flatbottom in the bowl has sunk leading to a lip right before the transition in some spots. The good news is I sent these and other pictures of issues with Icelands to the Mississauga Parks Division and some repairs were made and others will be addressed as weather allows. ( Update Sept 2021 - The lip in the bowl was shaved down but now it's like a rumble strip)
McLennan Skatepark Bowl (RIP)- Kitchener, ON
I have no issues with the overall design of this bowl, it's what happened after. The skatepark (the entire park) is built on a former dump hence the the nickname Mt. Trashmore. The skatepark was placed on pileings (some say not enough). Either way, the bowl shifted and now water pooled in areas without drains.
The 'Hot Tub' was never supposed to hold water. (Update. The 'hot-tub' transition was removed so water can drain off this area to the grass.)
UPDATE! This bowl has been permanently closed and was removed by the city.
Midland, ON
This small bowl is lumpy and features coping flush with the concrete(no-ping). This was the only poured part of a pre-cast park.
Bad Design
Mt. Forest has a hubba going into its bowl which has tiny no-ping.
Georgetown's original park has features that all lead into the middle. (Update - Plans for a complete demo and new modern skatepark in the works for 2022)
Classic Parks
Some parks have dated features or were never designed as skateparks in the first place. Forgive me if I knock some of your favourites.
Beasley Bowl, Hamilton, ON
A wading pool converted to a skatepark. This one is extremely popular and loved by locals. It's an interesting one to ride.
UPDATE. Beasley has been remodeled while respecting it's heritage. This 'bowl' has been refinished and a nice mini-pipe was added.
2nd Update - The bowl was PROPERLY refinished in summer 2021
Napanee, ON
The Aud - Kitchener, ON.
Napanee and The Aud both have a mellow kidney shape with no coping. Great for launches but not great bowls.
No comments:
Post a Comment