City council has given the nod to a new addition to the skateboard facility at a west end park.
Skateboarders filled council chambers Monday night in support of a new “skateboard bowl” at Atkinson park.
Council consented to the plan in principle, given all the funds required for the project will be raised privately. It's expected to cost between $100,000-120,000.
It's being dubbed the "Barron Bowl" in the name of Ryan Barron - a Windsor skateboarder who was killed in a hit and run in Vancouver last April.
Skate park committee chair Rob Bondy says the bowl is a way to keep aging skaters involved in the sport.
"That’s a big part of why we’re pushing for this bowl. This is a particular feature that does not exist in Essex County,” says Bondy. “As skaters get older and they start to realize that a 30 year-old, 40-year-old body isn’t designed to jump down like nine stairs or big hand-rails.”
The Friends for Atkinson plan to begin fundraising for the project immediately.
