Part of the design for an action sport facility in Qualicum Beach could be trying to figure out how to strengthen the connection with the skate park and the people in the area, says town staff.
At Monday’s (May 1) regular council meeting, council directed staff to begin a formal feasibility process to examine options for an Action Sport Facility, which could include surface for bicycles, skateboards and scooters, in the town.
Coun. Neil Horner put forward the motion from the March 15 Select Committee on Parks, Recreation and Culture meeting.
Coun. Anne Skipsey wondered if the proposed facility would be located at the current skate park, behind the civic centre. Horner said the location would be up to staff.
Skipsey said last week she visited the skate park with her son, adding that it wasn’t a “G-rating park.”
“I was a little offended by some of the language and some of the graphics there and I was also a little offended by some of the amount of litter and garbage that surrounded the area,” Skipsey said.
Director of planning Luke Sales said two groups have visited the local skate park to discuss options for refreshing or refurbishing it.
“Interestingly, both of the people who came and spoke to us commented on our location of the skate park that it’s entirely secluded as if it’s meant to be hidden from the community,” Sales said. “That does attract, as you say, graffiti and behaviours that wouldn’t necessarily be taking place if it was in a visible location where the people there felt like they were part of the community.”
Sales said part of the design would be trying to figure out how to strengthen that connection between the skate park and people in the community.
CAO Daniel Sailland the location of the current skate park makes a redesign hard since it’s secluded.
Sailland said there is a process for graffiti removal, but the challenge with large slabs of concrete that are sunken in is that “they’re hard to see and easy to paint on.” He also said the town could close down the park from time to time to repaint, but there would be costs associated with that.
Coun. Luchtmeijer said council has a lot more cumbersome things to attack than graffiti.
“Somewhere along the line I think we have to face reality,” Luchtmeijer said. “Skate parks and graffiti are synonymous. Skate park graffiti can be offensive and that shouldn’t be there, but a lot of the graffiti is just part of the culture. If we sanitize the skate park, we might as well not build it in the first place because I think people won’t use it.”
Council also directed staff to prepare a feasibility analysis, including cost, design and construction, for two outdoor volleyball courts in Qualicum Beach Community Park.
The next regular council meeting is May 29 at 7 p.m.