Local teens eagerly await opening of new Eastern Passage skate park - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Local teens eagerly await opening of new Eastern Passage skate park

Teenagers in Eastern Passage, N.S., are excited about a new place to hang out. A skate park under construction that's been several years in the making is being described by one expert as one of the best in Nova Scotia.

'It's going to be new and better for the community,' says 16-year-old Kyle Worell

Three teenagers are shown with a skateboard in the middle of them on a metal ramp in an old skate park.
Kyle Worell, left, Courtney Jensen, centre, and Lucas Garnhum are looking forward to the new skate park being built at Eastern Passage Common Park. They are shown on one of the metal ramps at the nearby Oceanview Skate Park. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

As he rides his skateboard over the metal ramps at the old Oceanview Skate Park in Eastern Passage, N.S.,Kyle Worell looks down the street where he can see a brand new park taking shape.

"It's going to be new and better for the community," the 16-year-old said, pointing out the rust and cracks at the aging park he's currently using.

"A lot of the skaters in the Passage, they're going to other places to skate, like, I would be going into Halifax," he said.

The new skate park is part of the Eastern Passage Common Park planthat was approved by Halifax Regional Council four years ago.

It is located on Oceanview School Road next to the ball fields. The project is estimated to cost about $800,000.

A teen in a white shirt and black backwards ball cap pushes off on a skateboard toward pavement cracks and rusty ramps in an old park.
Worell has grown up riding at the Oceanview Skate Park, but said it's showing its age. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

"I believe this will be one of the best skate parks in Nova Scotia to date," said John Purcell from the Halifax Skateboard Association, who worked closely with the skate park committee.

He said the park the association advocated forwill suit riders of all levels.

Wooden forms are shown in gravel slopes that will be filled with concrete for the Eastern Passage Common Skate Park.
The skate park is expected to be finished by the end of August. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

It's also expected to be a spot where local teens will be spending a lot of time, even if they are not riding.

"It's a new place to hang out. It's just something new in the area, you know, we really need that," said Lucas Garnhum, 15.

"I hang out with a big group of skater friends," said 16-year-old Courtney Jensen. "I like to record my friends when they're skating and I'll post them for them and I'll edit the photos. They usually like that."

A worker in a yellow and orange safety vest is shown kneeling down hammering a spike into gravel as part of work making a concrete form.
Cameron MacCallum, a carpenter working on the skate park, says it will be a challenge for riders. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

With construction underway, some of the slopes and features of the park are starting to take shape.

Cameron MacCallum, a carpenter with Propour Concrete Services, estimated it will take about two months to complete the park.

He and colleagues working at the site are experienced in this type of construction and also ride themselves, which he sees as another benefit.

"It's an amazing feeling getting to build something that's for the kids," he said.

An artist rendering of the skate park shows concrete slopes and steps with rails and benches throughout.
A rendering of the preferred park design. The lighting pictured may be added in the future. (Halifax Regional Municipality)

MacCallum said the old park is at the end of its life, and the new one will be amajor improvement overthe one riders are using.

"Everything will be made with perfect transitions. It won't be metal ramps meeting the concrete sort of jankiness," MacCallum explained.

While it will require some maintenance, he said the new park will be designed to last a lifetime and will also be much safer than the existing one.

The councillor for the district, Becky Kent, said the park is the first stepin a comprehensive development for the Eastern Passage Common area that will see ongoing investment in the parkland.

"We've designed it as well in an area that will have pickleball courts and tennis courts and a lot of trail space," Kent said.

Other features are also being considered, she said, such as gazebos, a splash pad and benches to make it a family friendly space for years to come.

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