We Helped Newcastle!

 We Helped Newcastle!

(FYI - Park is Done! Check it out HERE)

Now let's do it again.

UPDATE - We did it again. Update at the bottom.

The Municipality of Clarington heard our concerns about the pre-fab metal skatepark concepts they had released in May of 2020. I sent an open letter pointing out some of the issues with these types of parks. Read it HERE.

According to the municipality, Newcastle will now have a cast-in-place skatepark. The change to concrete from a pre-fabricated metal park was due to overwhelming public feedback. Check out the Durham Post article HERE.  A design has been released and a survey has been included to receive feedback. 

Click HERE for the Newcastle Community Park Project Page

EDIT*** - This is a place holder design. A really good skatepark company has been awarded the design/build contract and will adjust the design based on survey feedback. The place holder Skatepark Photo led to my confusion. 

There is a few things I will point out regarding this design and its survey. Note- this is my opinion based on experience and may not be fact or what the local users desire out of their skatepark. I have also been contacted and this project is in good hands.

1) It lacks basics. There's no flat rail, no flat ledge and no manny pad. These should be the first obstacles considered in any skatepark design. EDIT* - The city has added to the survey and it asks about the importance of obstacles to the user. 

2) There are 2 rollers. This is a waste of space and materials. At minimum, one should be a bank-flat-bank with a rail. The survey calls this a table top.

3) The design looks like a pre-cast skatepark. The difference here is a pre-cast park is built off site and shipped. The obstacles are arranged on site but there are always issues with gaps and edges not meeting cleanly.  

 

Pre-cast skatepark issues.

A Cast-in-place (or Poured-in-place aka PIP) Skatepark is completely formed of site. Experienced build crews can work with a pre-cast design and make it great but starting with a great design will create a better park. The elevated bowl in this design looks out of place.

Pre-cast Design

Cast in Place Design

Final Result in Beamsville

4) There is a question in the survey about landscaping. Over the summer, a Markham Local contacted the city about the woodchips that were getting into the park from the landscaping at the edge of the park. The woodchips were removed and the city said sod would be added later. New trees planted just off the park are great provided they don't shed acorns or maple keys onto the park. Woodchips, mulch, pea gravel, soil and other substrates should be kept far from the park to prevent them draining onto the park. 

Many parks have filled their planters in to prevent run-off issues.

5) There's just something unsettling about this whole project. The first person I had been in contact with retired and by the time I reached his replacement, they informed me that they were in the process of awarding the design build project to the successful company. The park looks a little smaller than Gellert in Georgetown (population ~45000). Of course this is difficult to tell as the design had no dimensions of any kind. Is it a 1" bowl? Is it a 12" bowl? Newcastle has a population of around 10000 (as per stats Can.). Based on stats from Skaters for Public Skateparks, Newcastle doesn't need this much square footage. Should they get a big park? Yes. But a better designed and cost effective park.   I have also heard from a source that the build crew knows their building this park next year.  EDIT* - I'm less worried about this now that I know who's involved.

I'm excited for Newcastle. It's close enough for me to be a regularly skated park and I have friends with kids who are looking forward to having a skatepark. 

Update

Nearly 300 people responded to the survey and the updated design is now out with an additional feedback form for last minuet adjustments.

Link to the project page and feedback form can be found HERE.