By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: April 8, 2014
Mike Quesnel has set a difficult aim and he’s got a year to achieve it: Win the hearts and minds of those who oppose the skatebowl park.
“I want to see all the neighbours’ concerns gone,” Quesnel said. [manual_related_posts]
“I hope the year will go smoothly and the neighbours can realise we are not a bad influence.”
Mike Quesnel owns the skareboard shop Stuntwood in Garibaldi Estates and represents a fluid group of skateboarders who built the subterranean park under Quest University bridge.
“The project is a template on how people with passion, time, and money can give back without the district getting in the way.” Bryan Raiser.
By next spring, he hopes the skate bowl will no longer be a flashpoint between some neighbours and the skateboarders. The one-year trial will show the place isn’t the party spot some neighbours fear it would be, he says.
“People are going to come here and skate, that is it. This is going to be great little skatebowl park.”
The trial year will be a litmus test for Quesnel and others who feel the positive influence of the skatebowl outweighs the illegality of its origins.
Readers familiar with the story will know the skateboarders built a park without permissions, apologised profusely when caught, but promised to police themselves.
“People who are in the adjoining houses that are opposed haven’t come up with a valuable reason for me to oppose this.” Susan Chapelle.
The skatebowl was granted a year-long trial period on April 1, but the council and the community remain divided how the structure and the skateboarders should be seen.
In bypassing permits, were the skateboarders acting on a renegade devil-may-care impulse, or were they merely wrenching control from a rule-obsessed bureaucracy?
Coun. Bryan Raiser believes it’s the latter.
Fidgeting with enthusiasm in council chamber, Raiser said he would like to see this happen more in the community.
Raiser said the project is structurally sound and funded entirely by volunteers. On due process not being followed, he said council give variances all the time.
“The project could be a template on how people with passion, time, and money can give back without the district getting in the way,” Raiser said.
In tones less passionate, Coun. Patricia Heinzman said the project is a challenging one to contend with.
“I’m looking to you guys to ensure this is a success,” she said, addressing the skateboarders in the council chamber.
Coun. Susan Chapelle said she was willing to accommodate the skateboarders because it was recreation infrastructure, not a house they built.
“People who are in the adjoining houses that are opposed haven’t come up with a valuable reason for me to oppose this,” she said.
Coun. Doug Race looked upset as he heard the reasoning put forward by Raiser and Chapelle.
He said some councillors were encouraging people to avoid process, but that is not what they got elected for.
“Process isn’t a four letter word, there is a good reason for it,” he said.
Jill Carter says
http://www.squamishreporter.com/2014/03/26/solterra-plans-public-market-climbing-gym-and-bike-park-in-squamish/#.U1AwqqhdVIE
The businesses featured in this article seem to understand how the ” Process ” Works They are helping to contribute to our local economy by creating valid, safe , and most likely insured recreational space , jobs , as well as contributing to our tax base just to name a few things .
Jp says
Is Mr. Raiser going to help sue the district of one of the skate borders get hurt?
TJay says
What a stupid brainless question !…(in my opinion)
Did I nail anyone when I fell off my bicycle when young ???….pfffffft !…..
T.C. says
Tjay….let me fill you in on a little detail. The reason for the “stupid question” is because that is what Bryan Raiser did when he fell off his bike in 2012. He sued the district along with a few other companies for an unsafe road. I call extreme Bias here. I think there needs to be a serious investigation into the whole process of things! And FYI to all residents of Squamish valley, you are already paying for this “park”. So far you have paid for the extra work going on up there. NOTHING is for free!!!
S2 says
Skateboarders don’t sue JP, people with mentality like you do. Do you see mountain bikers suing for the amazing trails that make them travel from all points in the world to ride here, or rock climbers, or kayakers, or hikers? NO. It is people with attitudes like this that is keeping squamish a strip mall of failing industry rather than an outdoor sports mecca.
T.C. says
I think that JP has a good point. The very person who recommended this very unsafe idea to council was the very person who sued over lack of safety….can we say contradictory? People sue when an opportunity presents itself due to a lack of proper process. In this case the city counsel has gone against every safety guideline set out by world renowned skate park designers, RCMP, Ambulance, Fire Dept, to name a few. All it takes is for one very tragic accident to happen and that will be it. This park is for “kids” apparently so the most likely case of injury will be that of a child. Due to the location that seems to be the main issue for residents, is that there are steep terrain and a very fast flowing river. Since the skatebowl will accommodate only one person at a time then there will be many kids “keeping themselves busy”. As per the previous article from Britannia, Quesnel states that on weekends they had up to three dozen people and that was in an area that is hard to get to for many kids. I anticipate that in this area there will be even more people. Lots of people do not have medical coverage or insurance to cover costly accidents so I can see this being a very likely case.
Jp says
Thanks T. C. – those are my exact thoughts on the contradictory stance of Mr. Raiser.
Jp says
The strip malls and businesses actually pay the property taxes in this town to support the “outdoor infrastructure”. I’m assuming that S2 is not a business owner or property tax payer. In the last few years as Squamish has become the “outdoor mecca”, business property taxes has nearly doubled!!
Maria says
This is a comment to MKQ little video. Well as I wrote to council several times and mentioned at their so called SMA public meeting in February. Michael Kenneth Quesnell seems to know all the answers about what happened and is happening under the bridge. And he truly believes he has all the answers and all the tools and yes he has some councilors in his pocket too. He does not even live in this neighbourhood. As for the graffiti it has to go. Remember you put your little playground in their and you are responsible for the clean up, not the city (taxpayers) But who am I kidding……..city stuff is already cleaning up down there. Apart from the view youth from our neighborhood nobody has been down there until you showed up. Now all kids of all ages show up after school and on weekends. Instead of continue to mix cement and continue to built after you where caught, this structure should have come down and the bill sent to the SMA or whatever this group is calling themselves now. Susan Chapelle said she does not see a point about the safety concerns since she is not using it ( and apparently she she does not give a shit about the resident that pay her salary)Raiser being all exited (Fidgeting in his seat)said out loud that he can already picture other great things down under the bridge .The concerned neighbor who requested in January to appear in front of council had been denied to speak but Quesnell just showed up on the March 25th Meeting and was allowed to speak to apologize again but forgetting the fact again to explain why they continued to built after the group was caught early January. He also did not answer Mr. Priors question but talked his way around it just as he did on the so call public meeting on Feb 12, 2014. Jp and T.C your comments are right on !!!!