Despite Brighton’s big skatepark plans, some local riders feel neglected

Addison Currie (coming in from left) and Anthony Lambier are experienced scooter and BMX riders. They say that Brighton, a place where they’ve been riding for most of their lives, missed the mark with its new skatepark concept. Image by Allen Steinberg, QNet News

By Allen Steinberg

BRIGHTON – When the town of Brighton announced it was set to start revamping its skatepark after receiving a $125,000 Trillium Fund grant last week, the consensus was that the whole community would benefit from the new and improved park.

Mayor Brian Ostrander says that reaching the fundraising goal for the park – thanks to the Trillium grant that pushed a two-year fundraising campaign to its target – is a victory for townspeople and skateboarders alike.

“This is more than just about skateboarding for Brighton,” he told QNet News this week. “This is about an investment not only in the community but by the community,”

Town staff got Toronto-based New Line Skateparks‘ input on the final design for the park, working within the town’s budget and planning restrictions while also incorporating features they thought would appeal to avid riders.

But a pair of experienced local skaters say the park’s layout doesn’t appeal to them at all.

While many commenters on the park on social media say they are excited to see a nearly two-decade-old facility get a makeover, longtime park-goers Anthony Lambier, 20, and Addison Currie, 22, say the park’s final design is not at all what they had hoped for.

Brighton’s new skatepark design includes a bowl addition, as well as rails and ledges than were in the old park. Spectator seating is also a feature of the new park, to try to welcome all residents. Riders Lambier and Currie say these features aren’t placed where they should be, which will limit rider flow.

“As long as I’ve been riding in Brighton, so about 10 years, it’s been known as a ‘streetpark,’ says Currie. “That means the park has to accommodate all sorts of riders. What they’ve done now is they’ve taken away the only two ramps we had that are key in building momentum, and replaced them with ledges and rails.”

Lambier added: “With the way they’ve drawn up the rails and ledges, the park doesn’t flow.”

A lack of flow – meaning the lack of momentum riders can maintain from ramps, rails and other features – was part of the problem in the old skatepark. Another problem was that it was showing its age, Currie and Lambier said. In recent years, the park has seen a significant decline in users, they said.

“As of the last two years, I barely see anyone there,” Currie said. “When I was in high school, we could get 10 or 12 of us there at once.”

The riders said they reached out to skatepark committee chair Tania Light and Ostrander about their distaste for the park’s design. They didn’t get a fair say, they said, adding that the town could have done a better job at reaching out to skilled skaters.

“All the info they had given was through the radio, the newspaper, and their small Facebook page. I’m not sure who their target audience was there,” said Currie. “The committee reached out to elementary school kids when there are about seven other skaters my age who aren’t happy. They have to remember that while so many people are just learning how to ride, there are people like us that are advanced and want more.”

The duo says they’re in the midst of creating their own skatepark design to present to the mayor and other committee members. They also say they intend to start a petition to redesign the concept.

“Someone’s got to step up,” said Currie.

Last week, Brighton and its skatepark committee – from left, Jim Millar, George McCormack, Tania Light and Kathy McCormack, along with Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP Dave Piccini and Mayor Brian Ostrander – announced that it has surpassed the goal of $250,000 it set to revamp the skatepark. Community engagement and donations from the likes of the Trillum Fund and the Brian Todd Foundation paved the way in achieving their goal, says Ostrander. Photo courtesy of Tania Light

Tania Light, chair member on the skatepark committee, told QNet News that she acknowledges the concerns of the two riders. “We’ve been getting a little bit of heat about the flow of the park … I’ve got a couple people online who want to change the design.”

Light, the chair of the skatepark committee, is also the mother of an 18-year-old skateboarder who is among those who were involved in the consultations. Light said the committee did everything it could to consider the practicality of the park for skilled skaters such as Lambier and Currie.

“The Brighton Skate Park was originally built in 2004, and at the time, the youth didn’t have much involvement in its design,” she said. “This time, we sat down with the designer and talked about flow and what the kids want.”

She added that with the skatepark’s fundraiser lasting about two years, the whole community has had a chance to voice their concerns.

“Two years ago, we erected a thermometer at the skatepark to show our progress and the funds we’ve raised. At that point, it gave the opportunity for anyone to jump on board. These plans have been well advertised.”

Ostrander echoed Light: “I did have someone reach out to me and ask me if I could fill out a petition to change the designs … I’m not sure where he was at during the consultation.

“The committee took the votes from those who were engaged in the consultation and designed the park you see, and that’s the park we’re going to get.”