| City-licensed thrashing >> Skaters get government
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by MICHAEL CITROME Skateboarders in N.D.G. will no longer have to grind bus stop benches and parking lots, thanks to an alliance between the municipal government and punk rock skaters. This unlikely though productive pairing has resulted in what’s being touted as Montreal’s best outdoor skate park. The park, city-owned and free for everyone to use, is located on the grounds of Saint Monica School, on the corner of Cavendish and Terrebonne. It’s already open to the public, with a gala opening set for sometime in early August. Scott Arkin, proprietor of Diz Street and Snow, a Montreal West skate shop, says he first felt the need for a West-End skate park a few years ago. “N.D.G. is a very central area and there are kids skating around the streets and on basketball courts,” says Arkin. “This way, you’re getting them in one place where there are safe obstacles for them.” But what made the project possible was a collaboration with city councillor and N.D.G.-Côte-des-Neiges borough president Michael Applebaum. “We had a petition at the store demanding a skate park at the same time that Michael Applebaum was saying during election time that he wanted more recreation for kids in N.D.G.,” says Arkin. “We were also working with a program called Jeunesse N.D.G., and they talked to him after he got elected, and he okayed it and set a budget. He was very into the idea.” It doesn’t hurt that Applebaum is himself a former sidewalk surfer. “When I was a kid I used to skateboard a lot, but I wasn’t as good as the skateboarders today,” says Applebaum. “I used to go to Nuns’ Island and at the age of 13 I sold skateboards.” Applebaum recognizes skateboarding’s popularity and the need for somewhere legal to do it. “Skateboarding is illegal in public places,” Applebaum says. “[Skaters] get chased away by police and by public security in other boroughs, and I want to make sure they have a safe place to practice.”
So Arkin and his crew set to work on a labour of love, building an entire skate park out of wood and nails. “We’re building everything by hand, using wood with steel sheeting for the top, so it’s extremely strong and weatherproof,” Arkin says. “It’s light, so the park’s design can be changed around. We did it that way for cost and strength. “We’re three guys. The two other labourers are getting paid for their time, but I’m working for free. I’m doing it because we want a skate park for N.D.G.. We always wanted one, we never had one and being associated with this park is what’s important for me.” It’s the hand-built design that sets this skate park apart from others that Arkin says are “popping up all over the place.” “Most of them are not designed very well. They’re either poorly designed by city workers or bought pre-fab,” says Arkin. “Usually, the pre-fab skate parks are made from steel and you just keep it there and there’s zero maintenance, but it’s very expensive. A steel mini-ramp costs $18,000. Our budget was about $16,000 and we managed to give them the best skate park in Montreal. At pre-fab pricing, this park would cost close to $80,000. In most skate parks there’s only about two lines you can do, meaning one direction back and forth. But this skate park is designed that you can go it at any angle.” The city has also done what it can to complete the skate space. “Kids skateboard on park benches, so we have old park benches the city wasn’t using anymore,” says Applebaum. “Kids grind on concrete barriers for cars, so we got those.” But this doesn’t mean street skating is now legal in the N-Dirty. “The law is the law,” says Applebaum. “I don’t give directives for police to give tickets to anybody. I haven’t had complaints from people receiving tickets in our borough, but laws are laws and they have to be respected.” In the meantime, Arkin and Applebaum are concerned that the park won’t be able to accommodate the throngs of skaters eager to use it. They’re also planning a similar project in Côte-des-Neiges, and looking for an indoor location for this park, so the skating can go on when the weather is more Jack Frost than Tony Hawk. : |
