By Sheldon Spackman

Council approves Blackfalds skate park relocation

Jun 15, 2018 | 8:55 AM

Controversial plans to establish a skate park in the Pine Crescent Park area of Blackfalds will soon be going ahead.

On Tuesday, Blackfalds Town Council approved the relocation of the skateboard park equipment from next to the Multi-Plexto Pine Crescent Park upon completion of the skate pad. In addition, Council approved a speed limit reduction to 30 km/hr along Pioneer Way from the south portion of the park to the start of Coleman Crescent, as the area is a playground zone.

Councilor Jamie Hoover, who lives in the neighbourhood, says the project has been in the works since a Pine Crescent Development Plan was established in 2013 following public consultation.

“This area was identified as a great space for recreation facilities, particularly for our youth,” recalls Hoover. “Recently, we added on to that. We have some equipment that’s being moved from close to our Multi-Plex and last summer Council had determined it should be disposed of possibly or sold and there was quite a bit of public outcry to keep it, so as part of this recreation project, we’ve decided to move forward.”

He acknowledges that some nearby residents have concerns such as vandalism or other criminal-type behaviours, but he adds Council feels those concerns will be alleviated.

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“We’ve been tracking crime at the previous location and it’s pretty marginal,” says Hoover. “So we went forward thinking this will make a great added recreational facility that was already planned for that area. On top of that, I think we addressed the safety concerns by changing the speed limit and creating a playground zone on the road.”

As for the location, four sites were considered for the new skate park, including the chosen one at Pine Crescent Park as well as Centennial Park, the East School site and McKay Ranch.

Hoover says Pine Crescent Park was selected because it’s very central to the town’s east side where additional recreational facilities for youth were needed most.

“We have two new schools in the area, lots of new homes with a lot of youth that we think were underserved by those facilities,” admits Hoover. “As well, this area has a tremendous amount of green space that won’t be changing in the future. There’s a wetland reserve that really allows this neighbourhood to still have open spaces and have these recreational facilities, I think it was a good balance.”

After reviewing police call statistics at the Multi-Plex skate park  from 2009-2018, supplied by the Town’s Emergency Management and Protective Services Manager, Ken Morrison, the former RCMP Detachment Commander in Blackfalds, Hoover says Council didn’t want to paint all skate boarders as hoodlums in determining their next course of action for the skate park equipment.

“We don’t necessarily link the type of recreation that’s being done there to the concerns that the residents have,” explains Hoover. “We are committed though to monitoring it. I think it’s important for the overall community.”

Town officials say the three-phase development of the park space in Pine Crescent Park took five years to complete and also includes a boarded outdoor rink which is now under construction. Work on the skate park pad and the equipment relocation meanwhile is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

“This was something that Council was comfortable was going to benefit more people than maybe it was going to impact negatively,” states Hoover. “We’re comfortable that this is something that if in the future is identified as a problem, we can simply move the equipment.”

Officials say the project cost through formal tender is $385,000 of which $75,000 is for the development of the skateboard park pad.