Woodcreek Skate Park - June 17, 2013
The Woodcreek Community Association, along
with Fish Creek Sports Association, St. Jude School and Let Them Be Kids, is
planning a skate board park to be built on our Woodbine property. The WCA has
occupancy of two properties in the community -- our community centre location
in Woodlands and our sports location in Woodbine on Woodborough Road. This is
where we have tennis and pickle ball courts, a tennis practice board, basketball
hoops and a grass based skating rink. We are getting numerous questions as to
why are we building this park in Woodbine, why at this location and why not
some other location. The simple fact is when we build the park it has to be on
one of our properties. Woodbine has the only space available and is where we
can locate it.
We have many skateboarders in the community
and we want to provide space for their sport. We have also had the size
questioned. What we want to build is a park for younger kids rather than create
a destination park that would draw kids or adults from other communities. The
City has proposed three park sizes and we have selected the smallest for the
above reason. That will be 55’ x 80’. As is normal, the strongest objectors to
this skate park are the adjacent neighbours.
It is the community recreation area and is
the available location where this park can be built.
The City will be developing and promoting
skate parks all across the city and so far 27 communities have applied and will
be planning parks. We have hockey rinks in all communities and are now trying
to serve the skate board users.
Like anything else, if problems occur, they
will be handled.
I am sorry to upset those opposed, but the
skate park will proceed.
Cec Jahrig- President WCA
Skate Park Update – June 5, 2013
We regret to send out a notice informing the community that we will
not be building the Skate Park on June 15th along with the
playground. We were not able to obtain a development permit in time to proceed
with building. A meeting with the City of Calgary was held today, June 5th, and it is
projected we will have the green light to go ahead with the Skate Park by September
2013.
The playground build will go ahead as planned on Saturday, June 15th starting at 8am
at St. Jude School.
The skate park design was finalized in April. Along with community
input, we had members of the skateboarding and scootering community look at the
design and agree it was appropriate for beginners and intermediate
skaters. The consensus from the community was it will be a fun
"skate spot". The skate park equipment will be delivered on
June 12th with our playground equipment and will be stored until build day.
Questions and
Answers:
What is the vision
of the skate park?
There is no skate park in the Woodbine and Woodlands area and the
skateboarders are currently using the tennis/pickle ball courts disrupting
tennis/pickle ball users and causing significant damage to the newly resurfaced
courts and nets. The vision is to provide a community skate park for children
and youth to use for recreation purposes.
Can I see the
design of the skate park?
Why aren’t you
building a concrete park?
St. Jude School, Woodcreek Community Association and Fish Creek
Sports applied for and received a Helping Hands Award from Let Them Be Kids.
Let Them Be Kids is a volunteer organization that helps communities build
playgrounds and skate parks across Canada. They are paying for 50% of the skate
park equipment. Concrete skate parks are a lot of money. This award has made
the skate park possible and not cost prohibitive for our community.
Where is the
equipment coming from?
The equipment is coming from Ramparts. They utilize an array of
professional skaters and industry experts to ensure optimum safety, fun,
durability, expandability, and aesthetic appeal in every project that they do.
How was the equipment
chosen?
We had a dot-mocracy at St. Jude School for the students and the
community. Youth were able to put their dots on the equipment they wanted to
see in their skate park. Skateboard and scooter enthusiasts attended the dot-mocracy
and gave their input. We took the initial designs around the community and
asked for feedback. We made some changes given some feedback and came up with
the final design. We also had to keep in mind our realistic fundraising goal
and also had to make decisions based on cost.
Ramparts uses skatelite over polypropylene sheeting which
dampens the sound. The undersides of all ramps are fully enclosed which
also helps dampen the sound. From a maintenance standpoint, aside from
checking hardware every once in a while, there is little if anything to do to
maintain the equipment.
Who do I contact
for more information?
Cecil Jahrig at Woodcreek Community Association cjahrig@telus.net or
visit the website www.sjwra.ltbk.ca
as far as the skate park is concerned. Build it properly, Build it safe. Build it to last for generations of youth
ReplyDeletethis current design is a safety hazard due to sudden drop offs and vertical walls on the sides of ramps. Modular ramps are designed to deteriorate after 10 years. This forces a community to either Replace the ramps or scrap the program all together.
In conclusion, All or nothing. show a little conviction and invest in a Safe, Durable, and Progressive skateboard plan. OR save yourself the trouble of lawsuits and nefarious activities and scrap the entire plan.
Please do not make this city Half A$$ed.
Modular parks are not built to last and will deteriorate quickly. Why not wait until this area designated could become part of the skatepark plans that the City of Calgary has just accepted and then build a skatepark out of concrete. This park design does not allow kids to progress much and will result Tim it not being used.
ReplyDeleteThis is a waste of money, time and effort. Do it once and do it right.
As far as the skatepark goes this is not the kind of design that is effective for providing safe, fun place for skateboarders to progress. This type of design provides a very limited level of creativity in tricks and lines you could put together here. In the link below is some feedback from skateboarders within the Petition For New Skateparks in Calgary under the post about the skatepark. Thank you for your consideration. https://www.facebook.com/groups/327193334048134/367158970051570/?notif_t=group_comment
ReplyDeletePlease visit the home page for an update on the Skatepark. June 5, 2013
ReplyDeleteI am very concerned about the proposed location for the skate park. Apart from the fact that it will take away an area that is used widely by small children flying kites, people walking dogs, and access to the hockey field and tennis courts, it is imposing on private lives of condo owners close to the location. Some of the owners will be faced with the skate park right from their front doors.
ReplyDeleteWhere once there was silence, there will now be the never ending sound of skateboard wheels on concrete. And to what time at night will this go on, I might add. There is bound to be people hanging out there late at night.
When the tennis courts and the basketball area were used for skate boarding, unfortunately there were times when the gathering of young people caused the use the verbal obscenities, and vandalism to the equipment storage room. Please note that I am not saying all the young people were doing this, but I am only pointing out that this has happened more than once. As a parent I cannot let my children be exposed to this kind of unruly behavior.
Please, pay some careful consideration to my (and I am sure I am speaking for many other people as well) valid concerns, and reconsider the proposed location.
Please send your concerns to Cecil Jahrig at Woodcreek Community Association at cjahrig@telus.net. That way he will be able to reply directly to you about your concerns. Thank you for your feedback.
ReplyDeleteOh real brilliant? Have the tennis courts nice high and dry and treat the skateboarders like swamp rats. Build the skatepark down in the swamp there close to the drain that backs up at least every few years, not to say anything bout how wet that part is when there is a drizzle. The snow covers the place when all surroundings have melted! Not to mention mosqutoes. The skateboarding swamprats will be excelent blood doners?
ReplyDeleteApart from the obvious bad locatiobn (See my post, and reasons pointed out by the above poster), it has also been pointed out that C.A.S.E. (Calgary Association Of Skateboarding Enthuist) do not support the Skate Park. This is based on the fact that it does not meet the criteria for a quality Skate Park. (The article can be found on calgaryskateboarding.com).
ReplyDeleteJust to be clear here, I have no objection to building a skate park, but I have a clear issue on where you are planning to build it.
I have forwarded my concerns about the location to Cheryl Macleod and Cec Jahrig, and is still waiting for official confirmation.
As I am completely against the proposed location of the skate park, I am planning to object to the develepment permit.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who shares my concerns, please contact me at concernedabouttheskatepark@gmail.com.
Together we can make a difference!
June 17, 2013 - Please see the update on this site from Cec Jahrig from Woodcreek Community Association with regards to the location of the skate park.
ReplyDeleteCould you please be a bit more clear on the site of the skate park as from this website I deduce that the skate park will be built behind St. Jude school. Where exactly behind the school are you referring to. Next to the play ground, directly behind the building, where the old baseball field use to be? I have also heard that it will be made out of concrete which is in contrast with the information on this site.
DeleteJenn
DeleteThe proposed location for the skatepark is on one of the two sections of land that Woodcreek Community Association leases. These are the only two areas in the Woodbine/Woodlands communities which WCA can put a skatepark on as they are the only two areas for which they have a lease. One is by the community association building and includes the outdoor rink in Woodlands. The other area is near St. Jude, but is not part of St. Jude. St. Jude land stops just before the soccer nets and about 15 - 20 feet after the end of the parking lot (kind of near the bus stop) on Woodbine Blvd. The proposed location is in line with the tennis courts, outdoor rink (which is likely to be paved in the near future), the basketball court, and the pickle ball courts.
Oops, forgot to address the concrete.. Absolutely not. The skatepark equipment is state of the art fixtures that are enclosed to reduce sound. We are not building a concrete park as we do not want to be a destination skate park, we want children and teens from the Woodbine and Woodlands communities to have a safe place to go to skateboard, scooter, inline skate etc.
DeleteThank you for the update.
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking to observe the complete disregard for the feelings of the adjacent neighbours.
We have stated many times that we are not against the park, but only against the location of the park.
It is with great concern also that I note the statement "Like anything else, if problems occur, they will be handled." The adjacent neighbours will be left with this problems right on their front doors.
FYI - Sent To our Alderman
ReplyDeleteHello,
I just learned that a skateboard park is being built in Woodborough park within a few feet of my home. There has been no notice via direct mail to my home or formal contact via our strata manager at the Woodsman but the area next to my home has been staked today. I have skateboarded for many years and in no way approve of this, plan to protest this development and need to clarify if this is even legal in such a close proximity to our home.
We purchased our home with two small children because of the green space and we already suffer noise - loud music and swearing - and property damage from the hockey, basketball and baseball facilities. I can also share, having been in the skateboard / action sports industry for many years that I can assure you, regretably, late noise and further property damage, let alone the obvious decline in property value, are set to follow immediately. I can already hear the swearing and find bottles and our fences are broken by pucks and vandals - imagine if this were built beside your home - and I mean immediately beside. You would never let that happen.
I understand that St Jude School and the separate school board do not allow skateparks on their property and in order to upgrade their own facilities have entered into a deal with the community association and city to make this happen beside my home rather than in their own 'back yard' as it were. To add insult to injury a notice of an informal meeting to discuss was dropped with my unsolicited junk mail dated after the meeting had already taken place.
Luckily a concerned neighbor who knows the issues we are certain to face came over and talked to me after since I didn't attend. I obviously plan to fight this development and will be pressing every individual and organization involved - including my contacts in the media - to even try to justify how this is possible, let alone safe and legal this close to a home and community with several small children while the school pushing through the project has plenty of space a safe distance from our homes.
Please contact me as soon as possible as I would like to meet my alderman and a representative from the city public space uses department on site so everyone in question clearly understands just how close this is to my home and the effect it will have.
Thank you
ReplyDeleteThe letter informing us, of the meeting was a complete farce. It was wrongly dated, and only told us about the fact that these people wanted volunteers to build their park. During the long weekend a second letter was delivered, this one contained the right date, but this has put us on a disadvantage. Clearly the people organizing the meeting had more time to strategize and prepare for the meeting. What a farce!
In a released statement, it is being mentioned that the strongest objections are from the adjacent neighbours. Of course we object! It is very convenient to plan the skate park, and dump it anyplace as long as it is far removed from them. They would not like to have this in their backyards, because then they and their adjacent neighbours will strongly object. Then to add insult to injury, it is stated that if any problems occur it will be dealt with. Laughable! They cannot even deal with the unruly elements we are seeing on a daily basis on the Tennis Courts and the basket ball area.
I have a duty to my kids to protect them against this kind of unruly behaviour, and I would hope that a Christian School would do unto other as they would have others do unto them!
As St Jude requested the grant to build their playground, already has the skatepark equipment, and pavement around the school, or part of the parking lot during the summer why not run a program there, like similar programs in other parts of the city? A good example is Southview Alliance Church in Evergreen which runs a skatepark in their parking lot during summer, WHEN there is an adult supervising. Hopefully by providing adequate supervision they will be able to convince their immediate neighbours that they will be able to keep a handle on possible problems.
ReplyDeleteWhy dump more problems on their neighbours further behind them. Paving an area which will add to the already existing problems. Research shows that children do not suffer from pavement deficit, however more and more schools have started planting gardens as studies prove that today's children are suffering from Nature Deficit. Paving an area, south of the ice rink chain link fence, which forms part of a storm drain system seems wrong to me. It blows my mind that people will provide ramps for children to get hurt on as long as they wear a helmet, but not plant them a tree to climb in safe spot. Kind of like saying don't eat cinnamon sugar on your yams, but here is some candy for you. This is a bit of a side issue, but hopefully St Jude and WCA will be forward thinking organisations that help solve problems, not create more. I find Mr. Jahrig's approach akin to a schoolyard bully, as the message I get from him is, "We ARE building this skatepark next to your house, bugger what problems you already have, you can solve them after we have built the skatepark to get rid of the kids on the tennis court."
The area around the basketball court already attracts problems for the surrounding neigbours, because kids from the Woodbine community are not considerate of others. How by paving some extra space and attracting more unsupervised kids and teens from the Woodbine community to the area is this going to solve the problems already existing on the tennis courts?
This must be joke, right?
ReplyDeleteThe location where you want to build the park borders immediate next to the Condominiums. There's no divide between this and the condo's. Apart from this ludicrous idea, have you not noticed that the recreational area already contains a Tennis Court, Basket ball court, Tennis practice area, hockey rink and a baseball field. In other words, we have already all we want here!
I have read through the amusing statements from Cec, and I am really questioning the motives behind this whole skate park. You want a grant to build your new playground, and then you made some sort of agreement with the WCA to build a skate park also. Now does this not stand to reason that you build it behind yourself. You wanted it, so should you not use the open areas immediate behind the school. It seems to me that you do not want to take responsibility for the skate park, and now it is being moved to an already fully used area. It seems to me that you want to build this park just for the sake of building it. Unbelievable!
It has been proven that the WCA cannot control the problem of unruly teens on the Tennis and basket ball area. This situation is becoming worse, and now you want to further increase this by inviting more problems. Wow!
I think you should be ashamed of yourself, if you continue to disregard the feelings of people that has been living in this area for a long time.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGreat post and thank you for voicing your concerns here.
ReplyDeleteIt appears as if we are dealing with a small group who is pushing this project forward, with questionable agendas.
On this website they clearly stated their intention to build the park the same day as the play ground. Then the sudden notice that they have some problems with the development permit. I question the validity of that statement, as the norm for development permits is some sort of public advertisement. (Onsite and in the newspaper, I believe.) Have you seen this advertisement prior to them marking the location. I certainly have not, and I am starting to wonder if they were not aware of the fact that they needed such a permit. It must have come as quite the little surprise for them.
Lets move on the the controversial meeting. First we all receive a piece of paper dumped in our post boxes. This looked like spam, and I wonder how many people thought likewise and threw it away without reading it. Those of us who read it, were gobsmacked when we learned about a meeting to find volunteers, which had happened already. Then a couple of days later during the long weekend, another note were dropped into our post boxes, informing us the correct date. Problem was that many of were away for the long weekend, and many again could have thought this was spam. The people who are pushing this project had a clear unfair advantage going into the meeting.
I know I will probably get ignored, but this question is aimed directly at Cheryl and Cec.
"Would you like to have a skate park build in your backyard?"
If you answer in the negative, then please explain what right you have to force it unto other people's backyards?
I would really appreciate it if the principal of St Jude( I tried to find an e-mail on the school website for Mr. McMillan but have been unsuccessful so far)and the parent council of St Jude takes note of some of the comments they have received and seriously considers how they will make the skatepark a place that their children can actually enjoy. Some replies to concerns and how problems will be addressed would show that they at least are willing to take responsibility and not just leave the problems on other peoples backyards or front steps. As plans stand with a unsupervised slab of pavement with expensive equipment, it is an invitation to so much more problems in this area. The area is also used by teens with less than polite language, and retaliating behaviour to people that ask them to behave.
ReplyDeleteCurrently my impression of the principal & parent council is that they wanted money for a new playground. They figured an easy way to get more money is LTBK instead of fundraising the amount they needed. When they could not get money for just the playground, instead of concentrating on fundraising some more, they get the kids to come up with a half thought through idea. PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG! If you have to build this skatepark, please put thorough thought into it so that it adds to the community instead of creating more problems. There already seems to be a fair amount of paving around the back of the school,and the smaller playground adds to the space there as you stated the park would be built behind the school.
What I was horrified to hear was the way the people at the "looking for volunteer" meeting were treated that had concerns about the skatepark and opposed the idea. A kid taking a low blow, at the neigbours who do not want to listen to the constant noise is one thing. That the adults present there in favour of the park just laughed is horrifying. Kids learn bullying behavior from the way they see parents treat others, not by what they are told in school. I would hope a Catholic school and the parents sending their kids there would live up to a higher standard.
Furthermore I have to wonder why the surrounding community was never notified that the school was considering applying for a grant that would slap a skateboard park on their front steps. As far as I am aware it was mainly children who signed the petition for the skatepark, and not very democratically. Young children do not wish to be ostracized,this smacks of tactics used in Africa to keep dictators in power.
All that said what horrified me the most was the way one of our communities staunched volunteers to provide fun for children of the community during the winter was treated. Being told he just did not like kids! Have you enjoyed the ice rink? Have you ever volunteered to make it happen? Have you ever thanked whoever has flooded it for many years? You may think that the man who stood up and objected to your skateboard plans at the meeting just does not want kids to have fun, but he has done more positive things to enable kids to have fun in the Woodbine community during winter for numerous years, than many of the parents proposing the skatepark. I do hope that an apology will be going to him. He cares about your children, and he knows what is already happening around here.
It is easy to propose plans, and band together for a few days maybe weeks to make it happen, but what about the long term consequences and care. Who is going to protect that expensive equipment when some late night/early morning drunk revelers decide it's a great place to make a fire, or chop out a side of one of the ramps to have a shelter from the rain. Who is going to remove the graffiti messages that you may not want your kids exposed to, from past years there have been some very sexual explicit messages on the equipment room, tennis wall, the bike path and garbage cans at the baseball diamonds.
previous post continuing....
ReplyDeleteWhen surrounding people have asked the young people using the areas to behave in a proper manner their property has been vandalised and they have had to endure fouler comments and harassment. Some examples most obvious property damage, constant doorbell ringing and a condom with urine looking liquid found on a front step, probably thrown there, thank goodness it did not burst.
Are these things the things you want K- gr.6 children exposed to, or to learn to do. This will happen if there is not a willingness from the parents to have a supervised skatepark. The City of Calgary temporary skatepark at the community centre seems like a much better idea. Waiver forms need to be signed and skating only happens on the equipment when there is responsible supervision. I think if it was built closer to the school, fenced and equipment protected it would be much better in the long run. The school could even charge an nominal fee to help pay for the continual upkeep such a park will need.
Last question how many dots did the teachers that supervise the kids get during this dot-democracy? I do hope that they had veto power as they would know what children need instead of what they want, and will not be in the best interest of the school in the long run.
PLEASE if this skatepark is suppose to be for young children, please show how you are going to keep it safe for them. Further it would be great if you consider the neighbours and do not leave them to deal with problems that you did not want to think about.
If the St Jude Parent Council and the WCA were to walk around the tennis Practice Wall, (being described as part of the safe recreation area for children, youth and their families in your latest update), you will notice that once again it has been victimised by graffiti. This is happening on a continuing basis, and I am surprised that you do not acknowledged this problem. I have taken a picture of the latest incident, and would like to send this picture to you to post on your blog. Please advise. People should see some of the problems and realities we as close neighbors face. Would you like your children to be exposed to this? It is easy to turn a blind eye in your desire to get the park built no matter what, as long as it is far removed from yourself.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at the naivety to think that small children will benefit from this park. It has been shown that the WCA cannot control the problems of unruly youth on the Tennis and Pickle Ball courts.
St Jude wanted the park, so why not built it in your their own backyards. (next to the play ground for instance.) Could it be that you are sitting behind some laws, conveniently set to prohibit this, based on problems that might arise? In your desire to built this park, no matter what, you clearly are violating good neighbor practices.
I were surprised at the way the people opposed to your views were being ridiculed last night. As a parent, we try to teach our kids good manners and that being polite is a good virtue. To see the president of the WCA constantly refering to us as NIMBY's was totally uncalled for. This was suppossedly a community meeting, where everyone has the right to his or her opinion. Did not look like that to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked multiple times about who will take accountability of monitoring the park, we were told maybe we should volunteer for that. This borders on absurdity!
When possible flooding issues caused by the equally ridiculous idea of paving the ice rink were pointed out, our president stated that things will get dealt with after it happens. WOW! When pointed out the absurdity of that statement, one person at the table acknowledged that they never thought about the flooding aspect. This rasies a serious question...What else have you never thought of!
I am sorry to say, but this meeting only highlighted that this whole project is being dealt with in a unprofessional manner.
What is the point of having a meeting, when you are unwilling to be open to ideas contrary to your views.
The whole tone of the meeting was insulting and inappropriate! I suppose that is what we should have expected when Cec Jahrig already stated that he will build this park no matter what, in the past.
ReplyDeleteTo learn that you are now considering to pave the ice rink came as a big surprise. Are you so intent to create strife in the community? We all know that this will be a magnet for skate boarders, and I am starting to wonder if this was decided upon, to get back at the people opposing your skate park idea.
You should be ashamed of yourselfs!
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