Where, oh, where will the new skateboard park be? NIMBY!

By David F. Rooney

The location of a new skateboard park and pump track has been a hot topic in certain circles but City Council says presumptions they will be built in Queen Elizabeth Park are premature.

Improvements had been proposed to the original skateboard park in Kovach including the addition of a mountain bike pump track but most people living right by that park have opposed them in part because there are no washroom facilities in Kovach Park.

“It’s not just the washrooms,” said area resident Josee Woodman, who sits on the South Revelstoke Neighbourhood Committee. “It’s that we want to ensure input into this issue. We’re in the middle of a process that I think we should be allowed to complete.”

The City has been loosely considering other potential locations but nothing has been decided and it is extremely unlikely that Council would approve the use of Queen Elizabeth Park for such a thing without controversial public hearing. At best, the Queen Elizabeth Park suggestion is premature. No matter what, though, it excited a flurry of letters and e-mails from park neighbours and even School Superintendent Anne Cooper who said “Queen Elizabeth Park is clearly an inappropriate location for a skateboard park and bike pump track.”

“I don’t know how this rumour got out but we have to follow through on the process,” said Councillor Phil Welock, referring to the City’s ongoing search for a rational location for the skateboard park and pump track.

Tony Scarcella said that he thinks the best location is Centennial Park, which is already central to many of the community’s athletic pursuits including softball, soccer and track and field.

Given the kind of reaction that this “premature” suggestion has elicited from the public it is clear that lots of people are willing to tell Council: Not In My Back Yard.