Saugeen First Nation Skatepark

 Saugeen First Nation Skatepark

822 French Bay Rd

A small park that has a mini with a hole in the flat.  It just needs some love.

Video of the day.

Lucan, ON

 Lucan, ON

Elm St. Park

Skatepark and Pumptrack

Another underwhelming CRC park that further proves that they are in the business of selling ramps, not creating quality skateparks.

Pretty standard layout for a modular park but a few small tweaks would have made the park better.

Everything is pushed right to the edge of the slab. This makes several of the grindable edges useless. The ride-on grind to stairs & one side of the ledge are right on the edge of the park. Another 20-24 inches of space would make them usable obstacles. 

There's no room to go around any of the features. There's a big square of inaccessible concrete behind the mini-ramp. 

Another 'Snap' Half Deck Pro-Obs. There are so loud and there's no room around the back of the feature.

The pump-track is on the the other side of the creek and it looks like there's some sidewalks to go in this season.

First park I've had to cross a lil' bridge to get to.

Smaller Skateparks

 Smaller Skateparks

An Update.

This update is a follow-up to 'Small Skateparks Still Have A Lot To Offer' and borrows heavily from it. It is still a worthwhile read.

Smaller Skateparks have been increasingly popular with large municipalities adding to their action sports networks and small communities build appropriately sized projects for their local users.

 In the past several months, there have been a number of small projects announced and completed with varying levels of success. The goal with this update is to provide some insight on creating skateable spaces in smaller, community parks where a full skatepark may not be appropriate.

Skate Spots

The Alton Skate Spot in Caledon.  This Skate Spot has the basics - Flat Bar, Manny Pad, Flat Ledge and a QP. There is enough other obstacles like the bank and 'A' Frame Curb to make the spot fun but this as small as a 'full' skatepark can get without sacrificing quality.

Sonny Belch Skate Dot in Belleville.  This new addition to Belleville's action sports network looked great in the design but the construction was below industry standards, leading to unhappy locals and a partial rebuild of the main feature after only 3 months of use. It is critical to check Skatepark Design/Build Firms recent projects and get feedback from users, not just city staff who don't skateboard.

Skate Paths

An other type of skate spot is a skate path. These narrow spots are between 8 and 20 feet wide with spaced out features and are great for practicing lines or warming up.  Unlike other sports that are played on a field or court, a skate spot can be designed to fit the available space.

Jubilee Skate Spot, Georgetown, ON. Like the sign says "Parks are for Everyone". More photos HERE.

Leitchcroft Skate Path, Markham, ON. More photos HERE.

Angus Glen Skate Spot in Markham was designed to encircle the basketball court.

Green Gate Skate Spot, Cambridge, ON. This laser cut flat rail support highlights this small spot and the ledge/manny pad is great.  A rail support like this one could be a great way to 'brand' the park.

Skate Dots

One or Two Skateable Obstacles specifically designed for action sports use.

Thompson Park, Aurora, ON. A Ledge and Rail in a small neighbourhood park.

Ray Street Park, Markham, ON. A skatable art piece, this simple dot is aesthetically pleasing.  Signage designates it as a skatepark but due to its size and proximity to Markham's largest skatepark, it gets less use.  Other park users often stop to watch the skaters when they utilize the spot.

McNally St Skate Spot in Georgetown. The obstacle was offset into the grass by the builder. This issue made its use more difficult but remediations to the landing area is coming.

The 'Y' rail is a great, simple feature.  Easy to use but complex enough to to provide some challenge to more skilled skaters.

Hillside Park Rails in Orillia.  The city installed 2 rainbow rails in a small park. Local skaters should always be consulted on even the smallest skate projects. As fun as the rainbow rails are, a flat bar, like the example from Thompson Park, would have been better.

Walter Henry Park in Orillia, ON has a skatable quarter/bank next to the Basketball 1/2 court. 

Shared Community Space
Skateable areas worked into parks.

Stoney Creek YMCA, London, ON. This plaza area was built with metal edging in the ledges to allow for damage free skating.

Victoria Park, London, ON. Known as Ledge Land by locals, this spot in front of the bandstand is also used for public events. It is designated as a skateboard facility by the city and skaters are notified via social media when the ledges are removed for events.

Mount Pleasant Park, Richmond Hill, ON. Wave Ledge installed in this park was meant to used by skaters without designating it a skate spot. This eliminated the need for public consultation. Skaters are free to use the park as is anyone else. 

Mary Dawson Park, Richmond Hill, ON.  Another skateable ledge in a Richmond Hill park.

The Big O, Montreal, QC. Perhaps the most iconic Canadian skate spot, the Big O has attracted skaters from around the globe. Originally built for the Montreal 1976 Olympics, it was re-purposed by skaters. The president of the Montreal Impact Soccer Club recognized its importance and when the soccer stadium was expanded, the Big O was moved rather than destroyed.

Paix Park (Peace Park) in Montreal had skateboarding legalized after a  2014 pilot program.  The Marble ledges are a popular spot for skaters and their presence decreased crime and drug problems in the area.

This stylized bench provides a nice place to sit or a nice spot to skate. 

I hope you have found this input useful. Feel free to check out the rest of the blog. It is best viewed in 'Web Version'.

I'm happy to consult on any Action Sports Project, totally free of charge.

Matt Hughes Skatepark

 Matt Hughes Skatepark

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

33rd Ave North

After several generations of wood and metal ramps, MB has a fantastic concrete skatepark.  I was fortunate to meet a skater who works for Parks & Rec who filled me in on some deets.  The big section was done first and the build company, 5th Pocket Skateparks, built some of the smaller section ('A' frame hip, long ledge) as a bonus.  A QP was built later in front of the fence and in 2018, the bowl was added. The entire park is fantastic and has everything for curb lovers to ledge fiends.  Everyone I met was super nice ('Bomb hills, not countries', 'Sorry about our President') and even met a kid from Ontario.  There's a sweet local skate shop, DaVille, not far from the park. There no other park for about 1.5h in any direction so when it got busy, IT GOT BUSY😀

Tour Video

Edit of the Trip

This was a fun feature.

Brrrrrr!

Switch'n It Up!

Park 575!

Here's a couple shots of the old parks for reference.