Friday night, Queen St. in Hespeler was transformed into DIY skate park. Kids, teens and adults showed off their skills riding rails and jumping ramps as they launched themselves into the air.
Whether on a skateboard, bike or a scooter, onlookers watched performances of the latest tricks at the ‘Hespeler Needs a Skatepark’ event.
The fundraising event was hosted by Hespeler Needs a Skatepark, a community group working to bring a skate park to Hespeler.
According to Mark Ready, one of the founders of the group, the need for a more permanent location in Hespeler continues to grow.
“We just want to keep bringing awareness that Hespeler needs a skate park. We are happy to have local riders come out backing us as we did with our first event the ‘Go Skate Day’ in June. We are just looking to introduce ourselves to the neighbourhood,” said Ready.
“We want a permanent skate park, a place where kids can get to by themselves.”
With a lack of designated skate parks in Hespeler, local skaters took the matter into their hands and created their own DIY park, at an old factory site on Sheffield Dr.
“We built our own park so the kids could have a place to skate. There just weren’t any other options," Ready said.
"But the DIY park is technically on private property. Right now, we are on found land that we have been told is definitely a possibility for the site, but the land is not owned by the City of Cambridge right now.”
The current landowner has allowed the City of Cambridge to test the land to see if it could be a suitable site for a skate park.
But, Ready said, the park does not seem to be a priority for the city right now.
The Hespeler Needs a Skatepark group is hoping to be part of the master plan n 2023 where the City of Cambridge will decide where to allocate community funds.
“A Parks Master Plan is in the initial stage of development and will review the community needs in terms of overall parks and amenities,” the City of Cambridge said in an email to CambridgeToday in August.
Hespeler Needs a Skatepark is partnered with Notion Skate Co. a local skate company, to promote the idea of a park in Hespeler Village.
“We heard about the DIY park. We wanted to be a part of it,” said James Blain, co-founder of Notion Skate Co.
The company, together with Hespeler Needs a Skatepark, continue to build and clean up the DIY park but both are ready for a more permanent location.
“I really hope to see an accessible park here in Hespeler. Right now, it’s too far to head up to Preston and that park is too small for skateboards, bikes, and scooters. We need something here to accommodate everyone,” said Blain.
More fundraising events will be planned in the future for the community to take part in and show their support.
“We are trying to bring this to light, and we hope to see things get going. We would like to get some answers before wintertime and that way we can focus on fundraising and preliminary designs,” Ready said.
Ready said he hopes to see everyone come out and support these events.
“We really need everyone to come out and show their support,” Ready said. “That’s the only way it’ll get built.”
For more information, visit Hespeler Needs a Skatepark on Instagram and Facebook
