Vancouver skateboarders want your support for a new skatepark
After seeing that some residents had raised concerns about a new skatepark at Burrard Slopes Park, a local skateboard group created a petition to gather support for it.
The park sits on the border of Fairview and Kitsilano, two neighbourhoods that are underserved with skateparks, even though they’re close to a number of skate shops on West 4th.
“It’d be nice to have a skate park very close to a lot of people that love skateboarding,” said Cameron French, a Kitsilano resident, skateboarder, and a volunteer with the Vancouver Skateboard Coalition (VSBC).
He added that the Burrard Slopes Park is accessible by transit and on the Arbutus Greenway. It’s also near the Green Ramp, a temporary mini-ramp that the VSBC sets up at Granville Island every winter.
French created the petition on March 23, after the City of Vancouver published a revised draft concept plan based on the engagement it conducted in spring 2025. The elected Park Board will vote on the concept plan at a meeting on April 13.
“We wanted to start a petition to show that a lot of skaters and other residents in the area were in support of the space,” French said. “To show the Park Board that there were a lot of passionate people behind this, in case there were some concerns addressed at the final meeting to pass the plan.”
The revised concept plan noted that “common concerns” regarding the skatepark included noise and its proximity to residential buildings.
“In response, the location was adjusted to increase distance from nearby homes, and sound mitigation features were added to the design to address these issues,” it reads.
A perspective drawing of the skateboard park at Burrard Slopes. (Vancouver Park Board)
French had also read the Park Board’s engagement summary on the park, where some concerns from nearby residents were reflected, saying they were worried about “sound carrying.”
Oliver Tennant, secretary of the VSBC, added that there tend to be some “outdated concerns,” such as inappropriate stereotypes of skateboarders.
French agreed.
“In the early 2000s, unfortunately, sometimes skate parks were associated with certain undesirable types of teenage behaviour, unsupervised play,” said French.
However, he said that skateparks today see a lot of families and people of all ages.
” I think that they have become a really positive place in communities, which kind of goes against the stereotypes that people might have associated with skate parks, maybe in the early 2000s or in the ’90s or what have you,” he said.
Existing skateboarding infrastructure
Most of Vancouver’s skate amenities were built in the early 2000s. After building the Mount Pleasant Skatepark in 2011, no new parks were built for over a decade.
“Yet skating was becoming ever more popular, not only as a hobby, but also as a profession, as it is now in the Olympics. During COVID, as well, a lot of individuals took up skating. So it became an even more active community,” said Tennant.
“However, the actual built form, the skateparks, weren’t really keeping up. And not only were skate parks not being built, but at the same time, they also were being maintained, so a lot of them started to degrade. And what naturally started to happen is quite a few DIYs started popping up.”
In 2022, the Park Board passed the Vancouver Skateboard Amenity Strategy, which outlines the growth of skateparks, skate spots, and maintenance for the next two decades.
Since then, the City has added a skateboard feature at Collingwood Park and will be building a skatepark at Slocan Park.
“It’s neat because that was passed in 2022, it’s obviously 2026, and we’re starting to really see it come into play,” he said.
This is part of the reason why he’s eager to see the skatepark at Burrard Slopes.
“When it comes to the Burrard Slopes skatepark, there’s a lot of excitement about the area and about the skate park … but it’s also in general the growth of skating.”
“It’s something we should be really proud of and really excited about that that’s now top of mind with Park Board staff,” Tennant said. “This is a step in the right direction for the growth of skating in the city, and I’m excited to see what’s to come.”
If the plan passes at the April 13 meeting, the Parks Board will start construction in late 2027 and expects completion in mid-2029, according to an email from the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.