Skateboarders hopeful about potential upgrades to Halifax Common park

Skateboarders are hopeful they will be getting an upgraded park at the Halifax Common after providing recommendations to the city earlier this year.

The skateboard park is included in the Halifax Common Master Plan, which guides open space planning for the entire recreational area.

Moe Skidmore, a skateboarder who lives in Dartmouth, N.S., said the skateboarding community is excited about the potential upgrades.

"I feel pretty good about it," Skidmore said. "It's always nice to have changes with skateboarding because a big aspect of skating is always trying new things and trying different things."

Skidmore said the city hasn't always consulted the skate community when building parks in the past, but this time is different.

"The changes are definitely made by skaters for skaters.… It's actually skaters saying what we want, rather than just somebody who randomly is building it," he said.

The updated plan with the new recommendations will be presented to regional council in the coming months.

Skidmore said the upgrades would create new ways to navigate the park.

"It's going to be way bigger, more useful. It'll definitely be more of a top-tier skatepark for sure."

In an email statement, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Municipality said renovations to the Halifax Common aquatic facility are nearing completion and the skateboard park could be a "recommended future project."

The master plan intends to commemorate the historical value of the skateboard park, which was built in the drained Egg Pond in 1995. A second section of the skateboard park was added in the early 2000s. 

Nate Oliver of the Halifax Skateboard Association said it is planning to make its own improvements to the park before the city hosts an Olympic qualifying skateboard event in August, but the older section of the park will still need a proper upgrade. 

He said the association provided the city with recommendations, which include redesigning the older section of the skateboard park to fix its poor design and provide more low-impact features for beginners, scooter and BMX riders and skaters.

Oliver said these upgrades would make it the best skateboard park in the province.

The plan already recommends more shaded areas near the park, upgraded lighting to improve visibility and safety and the addition of public water, Wi-Fi and a waste and recycling system.

It also suggests addressing surface-water drainage and erosion issues, and adding infrastructure to host skateboarding events and competitions. 

For Skidmore, the most significant change will be how skaters navigate through the space.

"It's hard to say how it's going to change exactly until you get into the park and you start skating around and people start finding new lines to skate," he said.

"But it's definitely going to be fun to see how that works and see how that happens."