Forty-eight people gathered in the Gibraltar Room on May 30, to discuss possibilities for a new skatepark in Williams Lake.
Skateboarders, bmxers, quad skaters (roller skates) and others, including Mayor Surinderpal Rathor and city councilors Angie Delainey and Joan Flaspohler, gathered in the Gibraltar Room to browse photos of parks and features from other communities and begin to brainstorm what they might like a new skatepark to look like.
Everett Tetz and Denise Biziaev from New Line Skateparks in Langley led the group through a presentation outlining all aspects of skatepark development and opportunities – including different features and incorporating local art and culture into the final builds.
Originally built in the mid-1990’s the existing Nathan Matthews Memorial Skate Park has reached the end of its lifetime – cracking and deterioration has started, said Jane Wellburn, a volunteer helping to facilitate the process.
A small group of residents started the conversation about a new park with city staff late last year and reached out to New Line Skateparks – a company specializing in skatepark planning and builds – to begin the steps forward.
Step one is site assessment and community engagement, and prior to the evening workshop, New Line reps visited the skatepark to see if the existing structure could be refurbished, and to understand the proposed footprint of a new park and any additional factors that might need to be addressed in a redesign.
New Line, community members, and a representative from Williams Lake First Nation also talked about the archaeological significance of the park area and the high archaeological potential under the skatepark itself.
The group will continue this discussion and an assessment to ensure cultural heritage values of the site are protected, and any impacts mitigated. New Line was impressed with how well the skatepark has held up for its years but concluded that it would be unlikely that retaining any of the original features or slab would be of benefit or cost savings long term – those pieces would just continue to fail over time.
The new park would utilize the existing footprint as well as potentially realize a phase two of the original skate park which was never built.
“The local group is excited about a park that can incorporate new design and build techniques and revitalize a community space that provides an affordable and accessible form of recreation to a broad demographic,” said Wellburn.
New Line collected input from attendees on what people really want to see in a new park after their presentation. Those who couldn’t attend in person can still provide feedback through an online form at: https://shorturl.at/EEjsz.
The company will use all the input to create a few different conceptual design options which they will present in a couple of months. Once a design is decided upon, the local organizing group and the city of Williams Lake will have a better sense of the project budget and will begin fundraising to bring the project to life, said Wellburn.
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