Peterborough Group Revitalizing Skateboarding With Skatepark Upgrades
/After several coats of blue paint, the West49 skatepark gets a facelift from the Peterborough Skateboard Coalition and volunteers on Sunday.
Dan Post (left) performing a grind known as a “tailslide.” Post moved to Peterborough in October and met several coalition members and friends at the West49 skatepark. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The group is made up of skateboard enthusiasts that want to improve skateboard spaces, events and programming through advocacy, fundraising, partnering and engagement in Peterborough.
The paint was supplied by the City of Peterborough with help from Cassandra Babcock, Facilities Manager and Coun. Lesley Parnell according to coalition member Dan Post.
Several members and volunteers painted the McDonnel Street skatepark and spray-painted “tags” of the coalition’s logo. The concrete was patched by skateboarder Riley Wilkins before the park was covered in blue.
Coalition member Geoff Rix performing an “Indy” grab while airborne off a launch ramp. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Built in 2002, the 8,400 square feet skate park was painted as one way of reinvigorating skateboarding back into Peterborough.
The sport has gained popularity in recent years as a new sport in the Olympics, the rehashing of the popular video game series “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and veteran skaters that can be in skateparks again from the COVID-19 pandemic according to Post.
Sparo Lindsay rides the ramp vertically. Lindsay is the owner of beauty salon Union Studio in downtown Peterborough, Photo by David Tuan Bui.
He wants to grow the Peterborough skateboarding community of all ages and skill levels and wants the city to help foster and accommodate.
"We gave it a bit of revitalization to inject some more energy back into the place, to create a sense of pride,” he said.
Coalition member Aiden Finn performing a “kickflip” while going gap-to-gap from a higher level to a lower one. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The group is seeking help from the City of Peterborough to make more upgrades to the facility such as high-wattage LED lights for nighttime skating, exterior seating, more garbage and recycling bins, a water fountain and a sunshade.
"It's all part of bringing this park back up to a community standard that's more welcoming, more accessible and more inviting," said Post.
The coalition is lobbying the city to build a second skatepark to accommodate the skateboarding community’s growth in Peterborough. The proposed park would have a design that would cater to skaters of all skill levels.
"This design of this park comes from an era it was built," explained Post. "Skateboarding has no rules and so it is constantly evolving. The terrain we skate also needs to evolve alongside it."
The Peterborough Skateboard Coalition is always openly looking for new volunteers to help grow the skateboard community. Photo Courtesy of the Peterborough Skateboard Coalition.
