Ashbridges Bay Skateboard Park already getting lots of air.
Dave Kerr jumps one of the obsticles at the new skateboard park at Coxwell and Lakeshore Blvd. Friday. The park, which will officially opened late September, already has graffiti spray painted on a few of the ramps and rails.
Staff photo/DAN PEARCE
The cement is barely dry on the city's biggest and newest skate park, but already dozens of skateboarders, BMX bike riders and even in-line skaters have been testing out their moves.Slated to officially open on Saturday, Oct. 3, the Ashbridges Bay Skateboard Park has been a community driven dream for more than 10 years now.Despite the best of intentions, the city faced several challenges to get the park built. Several thousands of dollars extra had to be spent to stabilize the land beneath the park as the site, which is located at the corner of Coxwell Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard East, was once marshland. Fundraising must also still be done to complete its second phase, which includes a bowl.Recently Beaches-East York Councillor Sandra Bussin admitted there have been a few challenges, notably vehicles driving and parking on the newly seeded soil surrounding the facility."My staff and I are on damage control," she said, adding she's requested to have parks staff patrol the area."It's a challenge with an open concept park like this, but it was understood from the beginning."Conceding people shouldn't technically be on the site, Bussin said it's impossible to have city staff monitoring it 24/7 and the sport's enthusiasts have been using it for a few weeks now.As of late last week, night time lighting at the skate park had yet to be installed and garbage was piling up as trash receptacles had yet to be brought in.A few illegal artists have also been busy in recent weeks tagging the 21,500 square-foot street-style concrete plaza with tacky slogans and scrawls."Any park is going to get tagged," said Paul Bridger, a Bowmanville resident who came to practise his skills at the new park last Friday afternoon.Skateboarding for more than 10 years now, Bridger said obviously he'd like to see the graffiti gone, especially the "stupid tags" but admits it's hard to stop.Regardless, he couldn't say enough good things about the facility."They've done an awesome job on this. It's almost too smooth," he laughed. "This is clearly over the top. It's a lot of fun."Bussin said she isn't against graffiti at the skate park, but would like to have some sort of rhyme and reason to it."I can see competitions and paint-offs here in the future. We'll deal with each challenge as it will come, but I do think we can deal with this creatively," she said, adding she'd rather have tagging at this site than on private garages and other public spaces in the neighbourhood."My preference is that those who must tag, tag here. I think it's the best place for it." Still in the early stages, Bussin said more consultation with the community must be done to determine the best course of action for dealing with graffiti there.She also said BMX bike riders may have caused some surface damage at the site, but it is being taken care of.The Ashbridges Bay Skateboard Park will celebrate its official grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. All are welcome to attend the event, which is expected to include skateboarding demonstrations and competitions.