Oakville Town Council voted yesterday in favour of removing the West Oak skateboard park and moving it to Palermo Park at an estimated cost of $50,000.
“Where do we stop telling kids they can’t do things in Oakville because it ruins our enjoyment of the community?” councilor Marc Grant said before the motion was passed.
“We put in a skate park that has become popular with four year olds, five year olds. It’s a place where ten to 12 year old kids can go, that is close to home and still have fun. Now, we’re going to be moving this across the highway.”
Grant was concerned that council was making a decision without key information from the Halton Regional Police – who did not attend the first, and second meeting.
“It (West Oak Skateboard Park) was built for seven to 12 year olds, and what we learned last week was that 25 year olds thought it was a great little place to skate,” councilor Allan Elgar said. “They were very honest and I think putting it up in Palermo Park will not be bother any residential, and the kids will have a lot of fun.”
The distance between the parks is just over two kilometers. [see map]
Several options considered
Chris Mark, the town of Oakville’s Parks and Open Space Director presented a report to council that outlined the costs and time line of moving the park.
A sound wall which was suggested at last weeks meeting would cost $35,000 – with no guarantee that it will solve the noise problem. To move the park entirely will cost $50,000 – taking up to eight weeks to complete.
“There is no guarantee that if we put it up in Palermo Park we’re not going to have continued inappropriate behavior that we’ve had at West Oak,” Mark said.
“What I can tell you is that if there is inappropriate behavior or nighttime activity, there is no residence nearby that would be impacted by it. That’s what really guided us to recommend that it be relocated, simply because of the impact it’s having on the nearby residence.”
“If we do have continued problems at Palermo, we would look at security,” he said.
Mark noted that if problems occur at Palermo, it is less of a concern there, compared to West Oak Park.
The skateboarding lessons that are currently scheduled for West Oak this summer will be changed to accommodate those wishing to participate.
Tags: skateboard parks
About the author: Michael Burton
Michael is journalist with experience in publishing, news writing and the magazine industry. He graduated from Sheridan College and is the former editor of TRAVIS magazine.
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To clarify: I don’t think the home owners should have to put up with after-hours activities at the skate park. However, I also feel that the kids who enjoyed and respectfully used the facility shouldn’t be punished for the actions of a few bad apples.
By simply opting to move the skate park, I believe many of my fellow councillors missed an opportunity to get the home owners, the Police and the skateboard community (ages 8 to 28) to work together and a find real solution to this problem. Simply moving the park to an out-of-sight out-of-mind location was reactionary and not visionary, setting a bad precedent should we face a similar situation down the road.
This time we move a skate park. And I have to ask what’s next: basketball courts, open soccer pitches any field where we hear too much noise? Will our kids lose places within safe cycling distance where they can catch a quick pick-up game or exercise because a few irresponsible youth decide to use these places for after-hours gatherings?
In June 2006, the Parks, Recreation, Culture & Library Master plan agreed that we needed to incorporate these types of park activities into communities because they were ‘underserved’ with youth facilities. And I think our kids would agree: ask most of them and they’ll tell you that that there’s “nothing to do in Oakville” or, if there is something to do, they have to travel too far to get there.
So, in the long run, no one wins when we push the opportunity for non-organized youth activity away from our neighbourhoods to under-populated, unsupervised areas.
The knee-jerk reaction of moving these kinds of parks is easy and serves only a few. The longer, harder but more rewarding path would have been to gather as a community and work through a resolution that serves the respectful majority while deterring the minority who break the rules.
Hey Marc,
There is a guy across the park from me with a yappy parrot that chats all day and into the night. The thing won’t shut up. With all the yapping and bad words it blurts out, it makes by backyard time pretty unpleasant.
Can you ask this guy to move his parrot someplace else ??
Thanks!
The following is a statement sent to Oakville.com from Councillor Roger Lapworth:
“The West Oak Community Trails Park in Ward 4 is one of the finest in
Oakville. There were after hours problems with both the soccer and
softball fields. Town staff did everything in their power to eliminate
these problems and they were successful. The Skateboard Park presents
different and more challenging issues. Despite every effort from town
staff, Harp Security, and the Halton Regional Police Service, the youth – from dusk onwards – presented us with problems that we did not see coming when the skateboard facility was opened in the summer of 2009. Remember, this was only the second skateboard park in Oakville, the one at Shell Park was built well before residents arrived. The current compromise to “relocate” the facility to Palermo Park just a few hundred yards away, off Dundas Street West, will give everybody more space to enjoy skateboarding and other activities while at the same time not causing any residential problems because there are no local residents adjacent to this park.”
What is with Town Councils affinity for moving everything North?