THUNDER BAY – A plan to build a skate park where the Dease Pool once stood has cleared one of its last remaining obstacles, rolling on to a final round of public consultation before becoming a reality as soon as next year.
Thunder Bay’s city council gave a draft plan for the skate park its approval on Monday, setting the stage for consultations that will help hone its design.
The plan, developed in collaboration with the Thunder Bay Skateboard Coalition and released last week, envisions a park catering to beginner and intermediate skateboarders.
Councillors voiced general support for the plan, but raised some concerns over noise, inclusivity, and a proposed outdoor pizza oven.
Skateboard coalition chair John Kelly looked to dispel concerns as more myth than reality.
“You might remember me from such projects as the Marina skateboard plaza – that big, scary project with all the graffiti and the punks who’d be down there destroying our city,” he began a presentation to council.
“That hasn’t quite happened, has it? It’s probably one of the highest-used recreation facilities in the entire city.”
Public feedback on the plan will be collected through an online survey and consultations with neighbourhood residents and the local skateboard community.
Council approved the skate park concept in 2021, but hasn’t yet assigned funding or a timeline.
The idea was recommended following consultations indicating strong support among area residents.
“The most comments we got were that because it was a pool before, you really should be focusing on something for the youth to do,” parks supervisor Werner Schwar told council.
Kelly called building those opportunities crucial in a neighbourhood he described as beset with poverty and addictions.
"I grew up less than one block from the Dease Park site," he said. "That park, that pool is what saved a lot of our lives. That’s where we met, that’s where we felt safe from the drug trade and everything else surrounding us."
"I can tell you for a fact that we’ve definitely kept kids out of prison over at the Marina skateboard plaza, and that’s just going to continue here at Dease."
He said the addition of an ice rink and basketball court at Dease Park last summer is helping to transform the park into a place where parents increasingly feel safe sending their kids.
The skate park’s design will emphasize inclusivity, he added, accommodating beginners as well as bikes, scooters, and rollerblades. He called that a recognition of the widening world of skateboarding.
“It’s not just straight white male skateboarders anymore. We have a good influx of female skateboarders, older skateboarders... I’m 41 myself, and I’m not even the oldest guy in the park anymore.”
Coun. Rajni Agarwal called that inclusivity into question.
“You said this urban plaza is a meeting place for all,” she said. “If I want to go there and have a picnic, I’m not necessarily going to skateboard, because I’m not 41. I probably would fall down.”
The most serious objection appeared to be noise issues raised by Coun. Mark Bentz on Monday.
Bentz supports the skate park, but asked if it could be located across the street to Dease Park – an option staff said cuts too far into the park’s limited space.
The plan puts the skate park within 20 feet of some residences, Bentz said, “essentially in somebody’s backyard.”
Schwar called noise concerns real, but common to any recreation facility, saying even pickleball courts prompt sound complaints.
The draft design includes noise dampening features like trees and an insulated fence Schwar said would be a minimum of three metres high.
City staff have also promised the final design will be reviewed by acoustical engineers.
A proposed pizza oven was greeted skeptically, despite Schwar’s assurance the move has found “great success” in communities like Toronto.
“Love the design, love what’s happening here – I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” said Coun. Kasey Etreni. “The only part of this entire thing that makes me go, ‘Ehh, I’m not too sure’ is the oven.”
She suggested the roll-out in Toronto had encountered problems.
The oven would be accessible only when a small skate shack planned for the site is open, said Schwar, emphasizing the idea is “only conceptual.”
“We plan to go with more engagement with the neighbourhood specifically, and if there’s a common sentiment that it’s just too problematic, it can be removed,” he said.
“I’m actually kind of glad the most controversial part of this is the pizza oven, not the skateboard park,” Kelly said to laughs from councillors.
The design “commemorate[s] the cultural significance of the Dease Pool,” responding to feedback from the heritage advisory committee and area residents, some of whom strongly opposed council’s 2019 decision to demolish the pool.
Administration will report back by the end of September with consultation results, cost estimates, and possible traffic calming measures on Dease Street.
Traffic options range from the status quo to a partial closure of Dease Street to directly connect Dease Park and the skate park, addressing safety concerns from children crossing between the two sites.
The skateboard coalition has said it hopes construction could move forward as soon as 2024.
