THE FIXER
Without drains, skateboard park is more of a pool after rainfall
October 26, 2009
Jack Lakey
STAFF REPORTER
A surfboard could come in handy on rainy days at Toronto's fancy new skateboard facility.
After more than a year of construction, the much-awaited skateboard park at Lake Shore Blvd. and Coxwell Ave. opened a few weeks ago and is a hit with kids who'd rather practise their stunts off-street than weave around pedestrians and vehicles.
It's a long, rectangular concrete bowl with jumps, ramps and even staircases with railings; a wonderful place to sustain a broken arm or fractured skull. But, if it wasn't there, they'd only get hurt somewhere else.
Ernest Walker emailed to say he was there after a rainfall and noticed large pools of water in the base of the bowl.
"Is the taxpayer going to be on the hook for remediation or will the contractor be made to fix the problem?" asked Walker.
We went to the park twice last week during rainy weather and spotted pooling in several areas. The worst was at the east end, where the water was deep enough to reach halfway up the wheels of a skateboard.
We didn't see any drains that would allow water to escape from the bottom of the bowl – which would be a serious oversight. A pond will form on even the smoothest of concrete if there's a lot of rain and no place for the runoff to go. On the bright side, once the water freezes this winter, it might make a good rink for shinny.
STATUS: We called area parks supervisor Scott Attwood to ask if there's a plan to deal with the flooding, but couldn't reach him Friday. We'll update you as soon as we speak with him.
JUSTICE IS SERVED: Now that the city is issuing court dates for $30 parking tickets, many people (including The Fixer) will finally get their day in court, a measure of justice they'd hoped to avoid. Diane Walton emailed to say she blames our 2008 stories for the sudden flurry of trial notices, calling us an "idiot" for writing about it. "Thanks to you, the city is digging up all the old tickets and sending 'offenders' their trial dates. What a moron. Prior to that, if you actually went down to fight the ticket, you never heard from them again! I'm getting all sorts of trial dates for tickets I thought were history. I've been taking my tickets to John St. for over five years and not having to worry about them. I thought you are The Fixer, not The Breaker."
Keep the mail coming, folks.
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Toronto Star