Stoney Creek’s proposed new skateboard facility for Valley Park in 2020 capital budget | HamiltonNews.com
October 21, 2019 by Kevin Werner
Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark said the proposed new skateboard facility at Valley Park has been incorporated into the 2020 capital budget with the plan to build it later in the year.
“The consultant came back with overwhelming support from the community,” said Clark. “The skate park is proceeding. A lot of people are excited in upper Stoney Creek.”
Clark acknowledged, though, that council still has to approve the 2020 capital budget before the project is allowed to proceed.
The skate park, which will be the first facility specifically designed for BMX, scooters, Rollerblades and bikes, has been under review by city staff and a consultant since last year.
The plan is to build a 16,100-square-foot concrete wheeled sport facility near Valley Park’s parking area beside a decommissioned baseball diamond.
Hamilton councillors approved a motion introduced by former Stoney Creek Coun. Doug Conley in early 2018 to use a $100,000 grant from Terrapure Environmental to cover the design cost of the park.
Clark acknowledged Conley’s support for the skateboard park and expects to invite the former councillor to attend the opening when the facility is built, expected to be in 2020.
Staff were working on a budget of about $1 million for the facility. A 10,000-square-foot facility could cost from $370,000 to $525,000, depending on what is incorporated into the park’s design.
Clark said the cost of the project is being funded through development charges so “there will be no impact to taxpayers.”
There are three options staff are reviewing, said Emily Trotta, a spokesperson for the city.
“We are still in the process of finalizing the design concepts with our designers and consultant,” she said.
The consultant is New Line Skateparks, which oversaw the design of Burlington’s skate park. New Line has designed and built nearly 200 skate parks across Canada and the United States, including in St. Catharines, Waterloo, Vancouver, Texas and San Francisco.
Another public information meeting will be scheduled in November to solicit residents’ input. A date and time for the meeting has yet to be established.
The design will incorporate lighting for evening use, a water fountain, expanded washrooms and new pedestrian pathways to the nearby transit stop, trails and sidewalks in the area.
The Valley Park wheeled facility will be the first one built in the city since the skateboard structure at Turner Park in 2005.
Hamilton’s skateboard park study recommended that up to four additional large parks of about 12,000 square feet be constructed by 2021 and at least two more by 2031.
The study, released in 2018, identified Valley Park, Alexander Park, the Ancaster Community Centre, Powell Park and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Recreation Centre as preferred locations to address Hamilton’s growing skateboarding culture.
Skateboard parks are already located in Waterdown, Beasley Park in the downtown, Binbrook Fairgrounds, Turner Park, Mohawk Sports Park and the Parkdale Skate Park in east Hamilton.
Brad Clark Report 