Dease Park Community Engagement
This City of Thunder Bay, in consultation with the Thunder Bay Skateboard Coalition, have provided updated plans for a proposed skate park/urban skate plaza to be built on the former Dease Pool site.
Background:
In December 2018, City Council approved the closure of Dease Pool due to the state of the 106 year old facility which had reached the end of its lifecycle.
The majority of the pool’s operating budget was redirected to support enhanced neighbourhood/park recreation programming in the Dease area. In April 2019, the City delivered new programming in the neighbourhood, including free family skates at the Fort William Gardens, Playground Programs for children age 5-12 years, Youth Move activities, Kids Nights in the McKellar Park gym, and special events such as a movie night, fall festival, winter wonderland and more.
Given Dease Pool’s extensive history in this neighbourhood, the City’s Heritage Advisory Committee also evaluated the site’s cultural heritage value in the community and look at opportunities to celebrate the historical significance of the site.
Planning for the potential future uses includes both the Dease Pool site and Dease Park area because of the limitations that exist within the pool site alone – close to neighbours and roads, and limited space.
In February 2019, the City gathered feedback from residents to learn what recreation and leisure activities were desired for this area to inform the enhanced programming implemented to date.
In July 20, 2022 the Thunder Bay Skateboard Coalition and City of Thunder Bay Parks and Open Spaces Section worked collaboratively on the development of a design for a Community Skate Plaza.
The design includes two public art pieces (TBD), a flat plaza with gathering location for meals, programming and a community hub. The design then transitions to a skateboard plaza that has elements that include rails, ledges, stairs, ramps, slopes, bowls etc.
The design will have an acoustical wall to reduce noise effects. Engagement is also considered on how to join the two parks together with traffic calming techniques (cross walk, pedestrian cross over etc.)
