Sylvan Lake’s Four Seasons Park has emerged as the clear frontrunner for a new skateboard park following a recent open house.
“The Four Seasons Park down by the community centre had a vast majority of the votes,” said Jeff Johns, who is on a task force trying to establish a local skatepark.
A site in the town’s Centennial Park, off Lakeshore Drive, was also being considered for the skatepark. Those attending a Nov. 2 open house on the project were asked to vote on a preferred location and about 100 people cast ballots.
“A lot of kids showed up, a lot of the younger skateboard kids and stuff,” he said. A group came straight from the existing outdoor skateboard park.
Johns said once they have reviewed their data, they will take the results to council. He would like to see council make a decision in the next few weeks so design work can begin.
“A skatepark takes quite a while to build. So it would be so nice to actually get it going in the spring so we could have it ready during the mid- or late-summer.
“I don’t know if that is actually realistic, but that would be nice.”
Fundraising will be one of the big challenges ahead. Work is underway to establish a fundraising committee to line up cash for the project, which has been on local wish lists for years.
Four Seasons Park is at 47th Avenue and 43rd Street and benefits from having a central location and is already widely used by ball and soccer leagues. The Sylvan Lake and District Family and Community Centre is nearby.
Meanwhile, town council recently approved nearly $60,000 to refine designs for Centennial Park. The park is being improved as part of a multimillion-dollar project to re-route a portion of Lakeshore Drive to create more green space and promenades geared to pedestrians.
The park work is expected to happen next year and will be part of the third phase of the Lakeshore redevelopment project, which has seen two blocks closed to traffic and re-routed a street to the south. A new parking lot has also been built.
A timeline provided to council proposes a draft of the proposed design will be ready for review next month. A public open house would be scheduled for January, after which council would approve a final design. A second open house may also be held if necessary.
Getting underway quickly is necessary to get the best tender prices in February, says the report to council.
The town wants to ensure the park is complete in time for 2013 centennial celebrations.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com