A group of teenagers is working together to create a proposal for a custom, site-built concrete skate park for Jasper.
As of last week the group hadn’t come up with a name for itself, having thrown around everything from the Jasper Skate Crew to the Jasper Skate Park Committee. But what it lacked in a name, the group made up for in motivation.
On Oct. 24, 11 boys from Grade 7–10 congregated at the skate park for a work bee, taking responsibility for the space where they hang out and bust tricks, whether they’re on their bikes, in-line skates, skateboards or scooters. And once the space was spotless, they gathered at Community Outreach Services to chat with Trevor Morgan, the vice-president of Calgary’s New Line Skate Parks.
Morgan was invited to Jasper by Teen Outreach Worker Anna DeClercq to talk to the youth about Jasper’s options for a new and improved park and to help them come up with a proposal to bring to the municipality’s culture and rec board, as well as to council.
The push for a new park began with Ezra Jenkins, who wrote up a petition requesting a free, permanent community skate park and dropped it off at Freewheel Cycle, Senate Skate Shop and Source for Sports. According to Jenkins, it didn’t take long before there were more than 400 signatures.
He said the existing park, located between the tennis courts and the new Jasper Joint School Facility, is “dark and dingy.” That’s just one of many complaints the youth have about the space.
During the park clean-up last week, they made a list of all of the things they’d like to see improved. Written was everything from the need for more features to the need for a gate exiting toward the new school. Also listed was the need for lighting, benches and a shade or gazebo, as well as community acceptance and friendly bylaw and RCMP involvement.
In a separate list, the youth wrote their thoughts on the existing skate park, saying “parents and teachers think it’s sketchy,” it’s dated, it needs updating, it “scares us that it is moveable” and “it sucks.”
Jasper’s current park was developed in June 2003 with grant funding and funds raised by the Jasper Skate Association, and has portable features.
In recent months, there have been complaints from members of the public about the appearance of the park, according to Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation.
“It’s very, very difficult to keep the skateboard park clean and free of bottles and debris,” she told council, Oct. 21. “It’s definitely looking like it’s well used, which it is right now. The numbers have increased significantly in there.”
It was because of those complaints that the youth organized a work bee, with the help of the Jasper Community Team.
Of the effort, McNabb said: “We’re quite excited that [the Community Team is] joining forces and helping out and getting the kids responsible for the area that they’re using.”
The youth hope to take even more responsibility moving forward, not only with their proposal, but with fundraising efforts to bring their dream park to life.
To keep the boys motivated, Morgan, who has designed parks both large and small in cities and towns across the country, told them: “keep consistent and this park will come around, for sure. If you guys don’t show interest or commitment to it, then other community ideas or priorities that are more consistent will get theirs.”
He also advised them that these days, skate parks are being embraced more than in the past. They’re being viewed as public spaces, where the community can hang out, whether they skate or not.
“There is that potential here in Jasper, when you redevelop your skatepark, to create an amazing skate park and public space,” he said, referring to Winnipeg’s Plaza at the Forks as a large scale example of how a park can be built with the whole community in mind.
Jasper’s skate park is 10,000 square feet, and according to Morgan, on average design and construction of a custom, site-built park costs about $45–$50 per square foot.
That equates to between $450,000 to $500,000 for Jasper.
Morgan suggested to the boys that they approach council with a specific funding request, not for the entirety of the cost, but a portion of it and then seek out other sources of funding.
“You guys, maybe through the Community Outreach, could apply for grants and do community fundraising and then hopefully everyone becomes a partner together.”
UPDATE: Youth, parents and community members interested in joining the effort to improve the skate park are invited to attend meetings at Community Outreach Services on Tuesdays at 3 p.m.
Nicole Veerman
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