Skaters of all shapes and sizes breathed a sigh of relief after council moved forward with a one-year trial period for the contentious skatebowl project during a meeting that happened to fall on April Fools Day.
And it would have been foolish to think council would have done anything else — especially with an election in November.
Skateboarders likely outnumber impacted neighbours and that will mean votes, something none of the seven individuals on council want to jeopardize.
But the most fascinating aspect of this whole situation is how this decision is going to impact future projects and future sports in town.
I did a story in July 2012 on a group facing a somewhat similar scenario that the Skateboarders Mason Society faced. It was a small but passionate group of disc golf players who had been booted off of private land after setting up courses in Valleycliffe and an area near the Mamquam River.
The Brackendale course (located on Crown land) is still in use but it’s not promoted or really very well known. Compare the environmental impact of a sport like disc golf to skateboarding and it’s almost laughable.
All you need are a few baskets and some Frisbees – shirts are somewhat optional for this sport. It’s pretty much hiking with a bunch of flying discs. Compare that with all the concrete, labour and materials needed to put together even a small skatebowl and it’s a no-brainer.
And the DOS doesn’t have to worry about safety issues on a potential disc golf course… unless people start eating those weird-looking mushrooms in
the forest.
It’s not only disc golf that could benefit from a decision like this. I know local lacrosse players have been looking for an outdoor box for years — maybe they should just build one and see what happens.
I also recall people in the past wanting a gym. What if an outdoor gym was built? Oh, wait…
Props to the skateboarders for their excellent timing and getting exactly what they wanted. Sure, it may not have been through the most straightforward means but they now have a year to prove it should remain and the hard work is mostly done.
But let’s hope that skateboarding isn’t the only local sport positively impacted by this decision. We claim to be the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada, so let’s get out there and recreate.
The more the merrier, whether they be on skateboards, climbing rocks, kiteboarding or tossing a flying disc in a forest.
