How to build third spaces for youth through DIY skateparks
THE GREEN LINE
ORIGINAL STORY
How to build third spaces for youth through DIY skateparks
The Green Line team visited Christie Pits Park where Pits DIY, a local do-it-yourself skatepark group, is building community-funded concrete ramps that are safe and easy to train on.
Nicky Young, one of the organizers of Pits DIY, stands with his son Raphael Young by the skatepark at Christie Pits Park.
: Amanda Seraphina/The Green Line.
Amanda Seraphina James Rajakumar
Indian immigrant with a post-grad in journalism from Centennial College. Now living in Grange Park, meeting new people, and hearing different stories. Has four names, so it’s a pick-your-player situation.
May 2, 2025
How to build a DIY skatepark in your neighbourhood:
- Work with the city to find the right location for a skatepark at your local park.
- Invite local skaters and users of the skatepark to help design ramps that are fit for both beginner and pro skaters. Pits DIY uses a WhatsApp group chat to stay in touch with skaters at Christie Pits Park.
- Send ramp designs for approval to the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation department to get the designs inspected by outside experts for safety.
- Use concrete to build ramps that are sturdy and easier to train on for young skaters; it doesn’t splinter or pop screws like wooden ramps.
- Host skate tournaments to build community with local skaters, artists and residents.
From the streets to the Olympics, skateboarding has come a long way. But skate ramps in Toronto haven’t kept up with its growth.
So, locals in Dovercourt Village decided to take matters into their own hands by building ramps for skaters, by skaters.
Skateboarders, scooter and BMX riders take turns performing tricks on the wooden and concrete ramps at the Christie Pits Skatepark at 750 Bloor St. W.
: ANTHONY LIPPA-HARDY/The Green Line.
Christie Pits Park is an accessible downtown skatepark location that’s a hot spot for both beginner and pro skaters.
The park’s first DIY skatepark was built inside Sid Smith Rink in 2018, where local skaters installed wooden ramps. But due to noise complaints from nearby residents, former University-Rosedale Coun. Mike Layton raised a motion to build an asphalt pad south of the park’s baseball field, which led to the skatepark’s relocation in 2021.
Over the years, the park’s wooden ramps have worn out.
So, Pits DIY, a local do-it-yourself skatepark group, was formed in 2023 to build concrete ramps that are sturdy and easy to train on. The group advocates for safer, user-friendly ramps at Christie Pits Park and across the city.
Nicky Young, one of the organizers of Pits DIY, says that youth in Toronto don’t have enough recreational spaces that they can contribute to, feel proud of and build community in.
"I think a lot of times, recreational spaces are just handed over and you get what you get, but when people build it themselves and believe in themselves, it’s a completely different dynamic.”
In mid-April, the non-profit built two new concrete ramps at Christie Pits Park and celebrated it with a skate tournament last week. These events help build community for local skaters, artists and residents.
Dima Chabanov, a 22-year-old Ukrainian refugee, sits on his BMX bike by the skatepark at Christie Pits Park.
: ANTHONY LIPPA-HARDY/The Green Line.
Dima Chabanov, a 22-year-old Ukrainian refugee, rides his BMX bike at the Christie Pits Skatepark. He finds people at the skatepark respectful, waiting for their turn to use the ramps and perform tricks.
“It was my first skatepark that I came [to] in Canada,” says Chabanov. “Everyone [is] so friendly, everyone [is] like family, like [a] real community."
Evan Locke, a 22-year-old skateboarder, stands by the half-pipe at the Christie Pits Skatepark at 750 Bloor St. W.
: Hugues Cormier for The Green Line.
“I'm, like, pretty big into skateboarding. So, there's not a whole lot of places that really have this kind of, I guess, vibe and atmosphere," adds Evan Locke, a 22-year-old skateboarder.
While DIY skateparks have gained popularity in Vancouver, in Toronto, organizations like Pits DIY are still fighting for a culture shift.
Young says DIY skateparks are a natural magnet for at-risk youth to be engaged, involved and invested in the space that they occupy.
“Skateboarding is such an accessible sport,” adds Young. “It's frustrating to see it gets so little resources and see that we have to do it ourselves.”
Members of Pits DIY build a new concrete c-ledge in mid-April at Christie Pits Skatepark.
: Pits DIY.
Last May, the city demolished one of the concrete ramps at Christie Pits Park for not meeting acceptable safety standards.
University-Rosedale Coun. Dianne Saxe says the city is willing to consider Pits DIY’s concrete or wooden ramps for the park, but designs have to be sent in advance to get expert advice on their safety so they can be approved before they’re built.
So, in March, Young emailed two new ramp designs to Coun. Saxe and the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation department.
But Coun. Saxe says Young had only sent partial designs and promised to send more, including an ideal location for the ramps, but he did not follow up, so his email never got a response.
In the meantime, Young, built the two new ramps without approval.
Coun. Saxe says the unapproved ramps will be demolished, repeating the same cycle of events as last year.
“We're happy to work with skate groups. But there is one simple rule. If they want to build something, they have to get our approval first; if they don't, they're illegal and they have to come out."
Despite the city's plans to demolish the new community-funded concrete ramps at Christie Pits Park, Pits DIY says it will continue building concrete ramps at the park, and it wants to help other skateparks across Toronto in the future.
The group also plans to host free skateboarding classes for beginners over the summer.
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