I have heard before that Oakville is the second richest town in the country. They definitely dont take the building of their recreational facilities lightly. The construction of Shell Park is a model for proper planning combined with the benefits of solid municipal support.

What they did to ensure they would have the best park around was to first build a portable wooden skatepark and move it to different areas of town, to find out in which part of the town a park would attract the most people. This wooden park was modest - cheap to build and easy to transport. But it gave supporters of the park a good idea of just where the park should go.

The permanent, all cement skatepark was built in Shell Park. This municipal park in itself is a nice place. You may as well have your new skatepark surrounded by running streams, flower gardens, and fieldsÉ

Remember before I said how Oakville was a fiscally affluent town? A professional contractor from California was brought in to design the park, and the final expenses in the building of the park are said to be around $350 000.

Every spring the town even sends people in to refill all the joints between the concrete slabs. The town didnŐt just give a one time donation to supporters and end it there, the upkeep of the park has also been well taken care of by the town.

As for the park itself, it is great for any style or level of ability, because it has everything. Areas of the park are perfect for learning to ride banks, transitions and ledges, and theres always a swarm of upstarts taking advantage of these sections. Also, several of the Toronto locals to recently gain notoriety or go professional, guys like Appleyard or Rothbauer were regularly seen at Shell park, so its no exaggeration to say its basically a training ground.

Adam Barker

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