A group of skateboarders is hoping the city will spare a small skatepark they’ve built on a walkway beside Fort York, about six months after crews demolished another DIY park in the west end. But a local city councillor says it’s not that easy.The park, on a relatively unused, graffiti-covered walkway along Fort York Blvd. that crosses under Bathurst St., consists of three concrete ramps built off-site by the skateboarders, which were then attached to the barrier between the walkway and sidewalk. The setup also includes a row of cinderblocks. Skaters have been building and using the space since October 2016, skateboarder Nicky Young said. But last Friday, orange City of Toronto pylons and construction tape were put up between two of the ramps, which were also marked with bright orange spray paint — a sign the city plans on having them removed. “People are trying to figure out how to engage skateboarders and build community, and this is really the very best example of that — when a group of people come together on their own initiative and with their own creativity and their own resources and build something out of trial and error and problem-solving,” said a frustrated Young, who’s started an online petition addressed to local Councillor Mike Layton in an effort to save the park.The City of Toronto has 14 outdoor skateparks (12 permanent and two seasonal). But DIY skate parks have an “entirely different dynamic” from private or city-built ones, Young said, because they build a greater sense of community and stewardship since they’re labours of love. Since setting up on the walkway, skateboarders have cleaned up garbage and dog feces that used to litter the area, and turned it into a vibrant meeting point for groups ranging from five to 20 skaters. “It almost becomes more of a sacred space than just a space to skate,” he said, pointing out that cities like Vancouver and Montreal al ...
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