Skaters young and old descend on Calgary’s newest skateparks

Two more permanent skateparks located in Southwood and Huntington Hills are open and ready for play.

Riley Boland  with his son at the Huntington Hills skatepark.

While some fences remain and landscaping is yet to be done, skateboarders and bmx-ers are already riding the volcano at Southwood and dropping into the bowl at Huntington. Riley Boland, a local skater and proud dad, is one of the skaters enjoying Huntington Hills.

“Finally, Calgary has some new terrain to skate,” says Boland, in between runs at Huntington Hills. “And it’s really, really good!”

Boland, who also competes in skateboarding internationally, goes on to say that he skates all over North America and that Huntington Hills skatepark is quickly becoming a favorite.

Providing safe space for youth to recreate

The new skateparks provide awesome opportunities to be active and have fun. Together the new skateparks provide an additional 25,000 square feet for Calgarians to participate in wheeled-sports such as, skateboarding, bmx, inline skating and scooter use, all of which continue to grow in popularity.

Huntington Hills skatepark is accessible to both bowl riders and technical “street style” users – a concept that residents and users said they wanted during the project’s engagement process. Some of the features include a stair set with handrail with bowl depths to nine feet with spine and bank extension. There is also seating for those coming out to watch.

Southwood skatepark drew inspiration from the working farm that use to be on this site.  While residents wanted to ensure existing trees remain on site, user feedback for this site shared a preference for street-style features with a flow-style park design.

Skatepark development 

These new parks are the latest projects resulting from the Council-approved Skateboard Amenities Strategy. This document addresses the lack of affordable, fun spaces for skaters and riders of all ages to stay active.

Southwood and Huntington Hills skateparks and the smaller site at Chinook Park, Kelvin Ridge, Eagle Ridge (CKE), which opened last fall, are the first of eight planned skateparks being built.  

For more information on these parks as well as our mobile skatepark program be sure to visit Calgary.ca/skateparks.

Submitted by Lisa Fleece, Recreation

Shaw Millennium Park to stay a 24-hour skate park

In 2014 we asked you to determine whether keeping Shaw Millennium Park open 24 hours a day still met the needs of the community.

Your answer was yes!

Input into the decision included visitor counts, onsite engagement of park users, and an online survey. Police crime statistics and key stakeholders in the area were also consulted.

While user counts concluded that Shaw Millennium Park is used by only a handful of people after midnight, public engagement indicated that citizens liked the option of being able to use the park at any time day or night.

A decision was also made to align the neighboring green space at Mewata Armoury with regional park hours and it will now be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. On-site signage will notify visitors as to where the 24-hour status is in effect, and where regional park hours apply.

North America’s largest free outdoor skatepark

Shaw Millennium Park (SMP) is North America's largest free outdoor skatepark and is located on the western edge of downtown Calgary. It’s a highly valued recreation space for Calgary youth and adults. This park first opened in September 2000 and has over 35,000 visitors every year. The park features 75,000 square feet of skateable surface and has operated as a 24-hour park since it was built 15 years ago.

More information on skateboarding in Calgary.

Submitted by Corinna Baxter, Parks

Public input sought on Shaw Millennium Park operating hours

You are invited to share your input on operating hours at Shaw Millennium Park, North America’s largest free outdoor skate park. The park, located on 9th Ave and 11th St S.W., was established in 2000 and has more than 75,000 square feet of skateable surfaces.

Visit our online survey, open from August 6-18, or visit The City Events Vehicle at Shaw Millennium Park on August 8 (3-8 p.m.), 16 (6-10 p.m.) or 17 (12-5 p.m.).

The park has historically operated as a 24-hour park since it opened 14 years ago and the opportunity is available to reevaluate the hours.

From September 2013 to June 2014 the park operated under temporary regional hours closing at 11 p.m. and opening at 5 a.m. daily. The park returned to normal operating hours on June 1, 2014.

Citizen engagement will take place through the first two weeks of August with a final decision in regards to operating hours made in the fall of 2014. Learn more at http://bit.ly/SMPEngage.

Submitted by Michelle Irving, Parks