Lethbridge is one step closer to the development of a new skatepark as designers from New Line Skateparks of Calgary came to Lethbridge last week to give a presentation to members of the public at city council’s regular meeting.
Trevor Morgan, vice president/director business development, used a number of different examples of parks from different cities to emphasize the reason behind certain design principles and the versatility of different elements to make them as timeless as possible. He also showed different options available when considering a new park.

The focus of the presentation was making parks appealing not just to skateboarders, but also to the whole community by celebrating action sports and not just solving a problem.

“That is the vision that we are recommending to most communities and would like Lethbridge to consider,” said Morgan.
He showed a number of parks that were created as multi-use, multi-generational recreation areas that were inviting to the entire community.
“What’s really cool is that on any given day you may see 50 to 100 people skateboarding in the park said morgan, but you also see another 50 to 100 people who may not have anything to do with skateboarding, maybe the business community or visitors watching the action. They’d be interacting with users and just being a part of the vibrant space. So that’s really what we want to suggest as a model for Lethbridge.
He said that he saw all kinds of people stopping to enjoy the area and the sport itself at the skatepark at The Forks in Winnipeg.
“There’s people coming by and enjoying that space. Celebrating youth, celebrating skateboarding.”
The goal of the designers is to build something that appeals to a skateboarder’s perspective, is functional and exciting, yet can still exist as a successful public space.
“Part of the skateboarding experience is the colours, textures and sounds,” said Morgan.
One issue that tends to come up when considering skateboard parks is graffiti. Morgan said that 90 per cent of the municipalities New Line works with have a no-graffiti policy.
 Obviously it can become unsightly. Even with commissioned graffiti programs where you try to work with the artist, it’s difficult to manage how that works and how people interpret it.
Graffiti art is different than tagging and what happens is even if you put a graffiti art piece on it you might say ‘that’s beautiful’, but taggers may come by and say ‘This is free game for us’ so it spreads.”
One example he used was a park in the town of Olds which is a 10,000-square-foot, integrated neighbourhood park with a central pavilion, green space and a horseshoe pit for seniors, promoting multi-generational activity.
“When we started introducing the concept of multi-generational interaction and activity, people say, ‘You’re crazy, how can you ever have a youth park beside a senior recreation site?’ But it does work when it’s designed right and everyone’s involved and we’re sensitive to everyone’s needs.”
A report by New Line will be presented to city council on April 4. The report will deal with the need for a skatepark in Lethbridge and will discuss some of the development opportunities available.
The next phase will be to look at prospective sites for the park and try to generate community buy-in so that the development can be something that is mutually celebrated by the whole city.
“It doesn’t just have to be a big, gray mass of concrete thrown into the site. It can be a really engaging and exciting public space that everyone can enjoy,” said Morgan.
Wade Galloway, a member of the Lethbridge Skate Association, said that anyone interested in supporting fundraising for the new park is encouraged to attend the 1st Annual Urban Spirits Masquerade Ball on March 12 at the Lethbridge Lodge and Conference Centre.
Tickets are $85 and includes live entertainment, dinner and a dance. Money raised will go towards helping raise funds for both local skate projects and international projects. For more information contact Kristie Kruger at 403-308-7262 or Sharon Sproule at 403-329-07694 or by visiting www.lethskate.com.