Construction is underway on some new skateboard parks for Calgary.
The new skateparks for Chinook Park, Eagle Ridge, Kelvin Grove, Southwood and Huntington Hills are expected to be completed late this fall.
Thomas Hansen, the City’s Manager of Capital & Asset Management in Recreation, says there’s a need for the news parks with 50,000 Calgarians actively participating in wheeled sports including skateboarding, bmx, in-line skating and scooters.
The City worked with local residents and skatepark users during the design phase to ensure feedback and community needs were taken into consideration.
Sandi Gamvrelis, a mother and Southwood resident says she’s happy about the new parks because they provide youth a creative outlet for physical activity that conventional sports often do not.
The skateparks are the first to be constructed in phase one, with the City working on plans to construct more skateparks over the next few years with a total budget of $4 million for the first phase.
It’s been sixteen years since a new skatepark was built in Calgary. In 2000, Shaw Millennium Park debuted as the world’s largest skatepark.
