The Vancouver Park Board is a good friend of skateboarders. Sure, you'll hear the odd skater complaining that we don't have this or we don't have that... a tight-trannied swimming pool-style bowl with concrete coping (somewhere on the beach please) is on top of my personal wish list... but the truth is that we've been getting our already-decadent cake iced for years. Over the past few months, in official business involving China Creek and The Plaza, the Park Board has given us two more reasons to be happy with them.

Last Tuesday, there was a very positive meeting concerning the future of The Plaza and at last night's meeting, the Park Board gave their final report on the plans to upgrade China Creek South Park.

The bulk of the meeting concerned the Stanley Park clean-up, but a few Skate Coalition members and associates (Howard, D-Rock, Doug Donut, Thor...) waited it out to see what the final report would be. I spoke on behalf of the Coalition, thanking the Park Board for considering our side of the issue and mentioning that we'd take responsibility for removing the wooden ramps, which were brought there by local skaters and have been identified as one of the main sources of noise. A couple of other people spoke too, two for and one against the skatepark. In the end, the Park Board voted unanimously in favour of the plan that involves keeping the bowls.

After the meeting, a camera guy from some TV station asked me for a statement. While my writing skills are good, my public speaking skills could be improved in a big way. I'm alright on the radio, poor in front of crowds, and somewhat of a trainwreck with a TV camera and a spotlight roughly three feet from my face. Apparently I don't think well under those conditions and if that clip ends up on the air... well, I'm embarrassed in advance. But who cares? What matters is that China Creek will be a great park when it's done. Instead of just a skatepark, soon there will also be a playground for the kids, a community garden (very cool), a bunch of new trees, and an upgraded bike path. Councillor Loretta Woodcock suggested incorporating Al DeGenova's brilliant Fruit Tree Project. Hopefully the new features will make China Creek South Park attractive to a wider range of people and the increased usage will revitalize the area.

We also had an encouraging conversation with one of the anti-park neighbours after the meeting. He was disappointed, but said that he is interested in working with us to make the park work for everyone, which is exactly what we want. He seemed appreciative that we're making an effort to reach out to the neighbours and that was nice to see. We're looking forward to many more years of skating China Creek.

Photo courtesy of Petr Ruzicka.