Montreal should increase the number of infrastructures dedicated to the practice of sports on wheels such as skateboarding, inline skating and scooters, believes the opposition to city hall.
“Since the 1970s, the skateboard has experienced significant enthusiasm. And in recent years, we can speak of a dazzling increase. We see it in the skate parks. They are crowded. They are in demand across the island of Montreal, ”explained Bois-de-Liesse district councilor Benoit Langevin on Wednesday, himself a fan of this sport, which has become an Olympic discipline in 2020.
Currently, Montreal has 29 parks for skateboarders, but only one is indoors, the TAZ, whose entrance price varies from $12 to $17.
According to a survey conducted in 2014, 41% of young Montrealers practice rollerblading, 33% skateboarding and 28% scootering. But many users of skate parks consider that these are poorly laid out and lit, indicates the Urban Sports and Outdoors Master Plan of the City of Montreal 2018-2028.
upcoming motion
On the occasion of the next city council, on August 21, the opposition intends to table a motion asking that the City document the traffic of places where sports on wheels are practiced in order to better understand the needs of enthusiasts of these activities. Montreal should also identify areas where equipment would be needed and develop a development strategy as Vancouver and Melbourne have done, adds the opposition.
“Currently, there is no logic of territorial equity,” underlines Mr. Langevin. According to him, the sectors at the east and west ends of the island of Montreal, among others, lack places for the practice of sports on wheels.
The elected official also believes that the City should offer free time slots at the TAZ during the winter in order to facilitate access to this sport for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The City could also draw inspiration from the model developed by JM Court, near the Jeanne-Mance secondary school in the Plateau-Mont-Royal, where a building has been transformed into a skateboard park, accessible to young people at a modest price, offers Together Montreal.