A small skatepark lives just off of Bronson Avenue.
It’s tucked away on an unused road encased by towering trees that drown out the hums of traffic and construction work across the street.
Slowly expanding over the past few months, the park has cement banks, boxes and rails for skateboarding tricks. The short cement walls hiding the park from Slater Street below are lathered in colourful, blocky graffiti designs, and a recycling can in the corner is filled to the brim with discarded cigarette packets and collapsed cooler boxes.
It’s quiet, private, and well-maintained.
The caveat?
The city is aware of the skatepark’s existence — but they’re not the ones who built it.
The park is a DIY feat from a group of Ottawa skateboarders, who have collected materials and built up the park over the past few months. Less than 900 metres from the city-sanctioned Charlie Bowins Skatepark, skateboarders say the DIY initiative allows for full creative control and something new for Ottawa’s skateboarding community.
One of the skatepark’s builders declined requests to speak on the record, citing liability concerns. But it’s hardly a secret, as he’s actively posted about it on Reddit.
And the skateboarding community has been quick to check it out.
“Skateboarding has always had an anti-authoritarian, DIY mentality,” said Aaron Cayer, a skateboarder and volunteer with the Ottawa Skateboard Association (OSA). “The beauty of skateboarding is that there are no rules.”
In an emailed statement, Robin Souchen, the city’s manager of realty services, said the city is “aware” of the improvised skatepark.
“While the street is not in use at this time, the City is planning to permanently close this section of road and work with the adjacent landowner to discuss a development opportunity,” Souchen wrote. “As staff are early in the process of determining what this opportunity could be, timelines and potential outcomes are not known at this time.
“Staff are currently determining next steps for the improvised skatepark, which includes reaching out to the local skateboarding association.”
The unused road is an ideal location for a skatepark because of its gentle, downhill slope, as well as the surrounding shade and greenery, according to Cayer, who has seen DIY skateparks in cities across Canada like Vancouver and Montreal.
DIYs aren’t as popular in the nation’s capital, he said, let alone a build “to this scale.”
Xavier Shepherd-Martin has been skateboarding on and off for about eight years and frequents the DIY once a week. Part of the park’s draw, he says, is the look inside the minds of the skateboarders who built it.
“It leaves power in the hands of the skateboarders and the community around them,” he said. “We’ve been able to create this space that’s enjoyed by so many people and has everything that a skateboarder wants.”
Chris Ray, an Ottawa skateboarder and fellow OSA volunteer, said DIY builds can also create a sense of pride within the community.
“They have to do all the work and find the materials and get the money and do all the labour,” he said. “But then, they get to have something that’s different from what you get anywhere else.”
Safety is “the most common concern” you hear with DIY skateparks, Ray acknowledged, but “it’s really not a problem.”
“Skateboarding seems kind of scary and dangerous, but a really important part of skateboarding is learning how to fall,” he said, adding that he plans to pay for a curved rail — a pipe shaped like a rainbow for mounting on a skateboard — to donate to the DIY.
“It’s a unique feature that we don’t have in Ottawa.”
Some city-built parks can get “kind of repetitive” with similar elements or terrain, he added.
There are 18 Ottawa-area skateparks listed on the OSA’s website. According to Cayer, skateparks that are built by skateboarders themselves are often the most exciting. The OSA is in contact with the city to support them in incorporating feedback when maintaining existing skateparks and developing new ones.
“We are currently undertaking an update to the City’s Interim Skateboarding Strategy, which will include public consultation on community needs and preferences, design standards, park features, supporting amenities and more,” wrote general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services Dan Chenier in an emailed statement.
“When skateparks are renewed, the City takes the opportunity to consult with users to include features and amenities that meet their needs within available budgets.”
But with the future of the Bronson Avenue DIY uncertain, Cayer hopes that the skateboarding community’s little secret sticks around.
“As a skateboarder, I’d love to see it stay for as long as possible,” he said. “I’d like to see it play out its course, expand, and eventually maybe it can be something that gets given to us.”
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