Brand new Rosemont skatepark serves community's needs, borough mayor says

For young Noé Lefebvre, skateboarding is a way to get outside, move around and most of all, to try new things.

"I play soccer, but I love skateboarding because everyone can do it."

Now, Noé can skate twice a week at a brand new skatepark in his neighbourhood of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie.

The borough invested $1.2 million in the park, which was built in collaboration with local skateboarders.

Borough Mayor François Croteau says the park, which was inaugurated Saturday, serves a need for Rosemont residents.

"We talked to them and we understood that it's really important for the community here to get a new skatepark," Croteau said.

At the inauguration, local skateboarders did demonstrations and some competed at the skatepark, which is inside Père Marquette Park off Rosemont Boulevard. 

Work to build a new park started about two years ago when local skaters approached borough council to ask them to do something about the old park. Rough, old concrete was a security risk for the people rolling around.

"We needed new pavement, because kids would get hurt," said Sylvain Talbot, who was instrumental in planning and designing the park.

Soon, there was talk of building a brand new park.

Talbot sat on the skatepark's committee, which was composed of local skateboarders and borough administration.

"We made sure the skaters' input was taken care of in the process," he said.

Speaking at the inauguration, he said the two-year process to get the park shows that skateboarding is becoming more and more popular.

"For skaters, we know very well, it hasn't always been easy in Montreal," Talbot said. "But now … it's looking good for the future."