Thursday 20 August 2015

More Modular Madness

More Modular Madness

I hit a few new park, all modular, and documented their problems.
This park in Brooklin was re-paved (with asphalt) and expanded. The before is above and update below. The Council decided to spend the minimum to update the park rather than build a concrete park. A few new items were installed and the existing ramps were re-painted.

 This concrete ledge is a new addition,
 but it's not welded together.
 This fun box still has a large gap between the ramp and hubba.

Two more parks in Innisfil.
 Stroud Park. It has a curved rail.
 Evidence of a flat rail. Stolen? 
 Maybe it was moved to the Lefroy Park...
Or traded. 
 Missing metal.
 Fire damage.
 This setup was fun.
 The lift mounts pose a hazard.
 The weight of concrete items cause the feet to sink into the asphalt over time.






Saturday 15 August 2015

Aurora Family Leisure Complex

I'm extremely critical of this park as I've been to several of this companies projects and they almost always find a way to mess something up. I'm not going to name them here but Google it if you're
curious (It's Hardcore. F Hardcore. Everything they touch gets f'd up.)

UPDATE - The AFLC Skatepark will be demolished and be rebuilt. A review in 2018 found significant issues with parks construction that warrant demolition. Why the City waited 4 years to review an obviously flawed park and allowed the 2 year warranty on the park to lapse is beyond me. Hopefully the new build fixes the issues and re-builds some of the fun features.
Learn more about the City's and the Parks failings HERE & HERE

The Good.
 
 Large, smooth concrete park with good flow.
 Spread out obstacles to allow for multiple users of the park.
 Smooth bowl with extention and...
nice transfer into the park.
 Mini-bowl.
Neat half-coin gap.

The Bad
 The bowl, which is brand new, has several seeping cracks. The water on this smooth concrete made the surface slippery and dangerous.
The Ridicu-hip and more drainage issues.
This hip is in such a weird spot it either shoots users into the rock wall or it has to be hit after jumping a large gap.
The retaining wall allows run-off to seep onto the park and the closest drain is at the other end of this quarter pipe.
Water drains in front of the whole quarter and creates a mini-creek.
Water doesn't even drain into the sewer.
It just puddles into the mud.
 Water running onto the park brings dirt and rocks with it. These stairs are also on a weird angle.
All the planter gaps are filled with mulch, which also makes its way onto the park.  Some DIY crete has been added so this hubba can be hit from both sides.  That's some short sighted design work.
There it is, the good and the bad. The 267th park I've been to. I had fun. I'dd go again but I hope the city fixes the landscaping and drainage problems.
135 Industrial Pkwy N.

Monday 3 August 2015

Parks yet unseen.

When I'm not out skating I'm playing Internet Sherlock Holmes trying to discover the next park to skate. I have a backlog of parks out of my area to try and hit on road trips.  By following different skatepark design companies on social media I try to keep up with what is under construction. I also follow park development, bid tenders and council meeting notes.

There are times, however, when a design company does not get to build the park.  Here is how I located one such park.

I was on facebook and saw something familiar here...
Not the Vegan Medic (which is run by a co-worker and served the best falafel I've ever had) but this picture.
Well, not this picture but a shot of this park under construction but from another angle. (This park is being built in Drumheller, Alberta.  The design (by Newline) is influenced by the fossil deposits Drumheller is known for)
The Suggested Page took me to a construction firm.
Murray Reeves: Concrete Finishing
This company has been building some of the best parks in the last few years. I went through their pictures and found they had built a skatespot in Halton Hills for Newline.
There were not any visible road signs in the photos and no address listed. It also was not listed on Newline's website.
This shot gave me the best clues.
The clock tower and some trailers. Halton Hills consists of 2 towns and many small communities but I got lucky checking out Georgetown first. I figured it was a new development based of the houses across the street. I checked out some Google Street View and Google Earth and found the following.
Clock Tower!
Trailers + clock tower = Park. 

And that's how you find a skatepark.

Found. Labour Day, 2015