Thursday 15 June 2017

Pickering Skateboard Park Strategy Meeting

Update:
The City has actually been promoting the event with their own posters that are at the skatepark and the mall shops, in the newspaper and on their website. I've received 5 separate emails inviting me to the event.



The best type of skateboard news! The City of Pickering is having 

Skatepark Strategy meeting June 27 at 5pm at The Pickering

Recreation Complex. Come show support and give your input &

ideas. This is a chance to grow skateboarding (&bmx etc.) in 

Pickering; not to complain about the current park. 

Yes, we only have one bad park. 

Yes, it's the oldest in Durham. 

This is the chance to say we need skatable obstacles in more areas 

in Pickering as well as a large,modern skatepark like the ARC. 

Newline Skateparks will be there! 

Oh, and The Pickering West Shore Community Association has

hired someone to work with to design a skate spot, hopefully for 

West Shore, but it could end up anywhere in the city.

Thursday 8 June 2017

June 7, 2017

June 7, 2017
I planned a day out to the Windsor area and to work my way back. I few years ago, I was out hitting Tecumseh and Forest Glade and my old GPS didn't have Vollmer Rec Complex in it yet.
I hate letting parks get away.
Got up and decided to take Gnorman just for fun.
Gnorman is my co-pilot.
 West Lorne was first.
171 Graham St, behind the arena.
Rodney was second.
Roughly @ 261 Ridout St in the middle of the track.
Two pretty bad parks. One decent ledge.

I made it to La Salle.
I was disappointed with a lot of features of this park. I don't know who the designer/builder is yet but here's my speculation.
Some company built a park or two in the area based off professional designs and thought "hey, we could do this ourselves." The park came out ok but missed the mark on some key features. (*update* It was Hardcore. Hardcore messed it up.)
Over all it looks pretty good.
 The overhead view shows the 2 entrances to the park have a pier 7 ledge and a small stair and hubba section. These sections slope down, away from the park, and they are asphalt.

 The Pier 7 section also has some gnarly sunken concrete. 
 Coping on the tombstone is a little wack
 The step-up is a little cockeyed. 
The 5 foot quarter is uneven and goes to vert.
The park is missing a flat rail and the pitch of the hubbas and down rail is steep.
While it's not the worst park I've ever been to, it fell short of expectations.
2121 Laurier Parkway.



ESSEX, ONTARIO
 Essex was next. It's a typical modular park but shows a great example of why visibility is important to a skatepark. The only graffiti is on the section hidden from the street.
60 Fairview Ave W

ERIEAU, ONTARIO
Erieau, ON. That's the run up to the stairs, rail and hubbas.
Gnorman is sick of waiting for me.
Near the end of Mariners Rd, Erieau.

BLEMHIEM, ONTARIO
Blenheim, ON Another bad park but these kids could rip it. Bulging QP, crazy pyramid, no run up stairs. Fantastic.
 Gnorman saw stuff go down.
stuff.
199 King St @ the Arena

RIDGETOWN, ONTARIO
20 Ebenezer St W by the watertower
So glad I didn't go to college here.
Ridgetown, ON. Even worse. Messing up the cameras. 
Home time.