The historic and renowned China Creek Skatepark in Vancouver has been updated after more than 40 years, and people are celebrating on Vancouver Island.

鈥淓ssentially it鈥檚 a space that has saved a lot of people鈥檚 lives,鈥� said Peter Ducommun, also known as PD. 鈥淚 know that sounds a little bit dramatic, but if you consider the neighbourhood and you consider that, often, skateboarders tend to be drawn to skateboarding because they don鈥檛 seem to fit in anywhere else.鈥�

PD is the owner of PD鈥檚 Hot Shop, which features the brand Skull Skates 鈥� Canada鈥檚 oldest Skate Shop 鈥� located in Vancouver, Japan, and as of 2022, Qualicum Beach.

PD first skateboarded at China Creek Skatepark during its early years in the 1980s. He said skateboarding carried a lot of stigma at that time, so having a skatepark in Vancouver was a big deal.

China Creek Skatepark opened in 1979 and is the oldest active skatepark in Vancouver. It鈥檚 also one of the first in Canada and one of North America鈥檚 earliest concrete bowls.  Until 2001, it was the only public skate park in the City of Vancouver. The park was built over a creek basin and was used as a garbage dump in the 1920s and 1930s.

Skateboarding was developed in the 1950s as an alternative to surfing during poor wave conditions, according to the Vancouver Skateboard Amenities Strategy. Drained swimming pools were used in those early days, but access to them wasn鈥檛 widespread, so skaters used whatever public spaces they could find.

Sean Rigby remembers discovering China Creek Skatepark when he was just eight years old. He would spend his summer mornings assisting at his dad's shop before being set free to entertain himself until the streetlights came on, armed with two slices of pizza and a pop.

鈥淚 got a skateboard under the tree one Christmas, so I would just start going around the neighbourhood,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淎nd then one day someone said, 'have you ever been to China Creek?'鈥�

It was unlike anything he鈥檇 experienced before. Although it was a bit 鈥渞eckless and dangerous鈥� sometimes, he made good friends and learned how to skateboard really well (he was later sponsored).

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 get enough of it,鈥� he said.

Jay McIntyre was also young when he discovered China Creek Skatepark. McIntyre, now a Bowser resident who works as a senior designer and project manager for Transition Construction, also got his first skateboard for Christmas. It was right around the time 'Back to the Future' was released. He wasn鈥檛 interested in organized sports and felt a connection to the skateboarding culture and to others who were skateboarding, he explained.

Although he wasn鈥檛 a regular at China Creek Skatepark, he knew it was highly regarded by other skateboarders. So, when the opportunity arose for him to be involved in upgrading the park last year as senior designer with Transition Construction, he felt both excited and intimidated.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a daunting task when you鈥檙e involved with a project that has been pivotal in people鈥檚 lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his project had the highest stakes of any project we鈥檝e ever worked on.鈥�

McIntyre鈥檚 role with Transition Construction was to convey and communicate the skatepark vision while navigating the required red tape. That vision came together after years of work from local skatepark users, Vancouver city staff, and supporters, but it almost didn鈥檛 happen.

Jamie Maley, designer and project manager with Transition Construction, said the park would have been removed if it hadn鈥檛 been for a dedicated bunch of individuals. Maley first experienced the excitement of the China Creek Skatepark at the age of 12, when he travelled from Mission to attend the Slam City Jam contest. 鈥淚t was a wild first introduction to skateboarding culture,鈥� he said.

Maley met Rigby approximately 10 years ago through skateboarding. He said Rigby was instrumental in helping China Creek Skatepark achieve official designation on the Vancouver Heritage Foundation鈥檚 Places That Matter Community History Resource.

After travelling and living abroad, Rigby returned to Vancouver and moved in across the street from China Creek Skatepark. He began spending time there again while also trying to obtain a grant to improve the park. It was a struggle, and Rigby almost gave up on the idea, but eventually, others joined the fight and a grant was secured. A series of meetings began to seek public input, and from those meetings, a plan was developed.

At that point, Rigby was contacted by several people who weren鈥檛 happy with the plan. 鈥淭hey were just in tears, saying you can鈥檛 put that there, you can鈥檛 do that, I鈥檝e been doing that run for 30 years,鈥� he recalled.

Maley and Rigby reconvened, over chicken wings and beer, and decided to draw up a new plan 鈥� on a napkin. 鈥淎nd that became the final proposal which is China Creek as you now see it,鈥� Rigby said.

Maley still has the napkin.

鈥淎ll designs need to start somewhere,鈥� said Maley.

From that sketch, they came up with two preliminary designs, and once feedback was collected, a final design was drafted.

McIntyre created the construction drawings and away they went. But it was still no walk in park, McIntyre revealed, given China Creek鈥檚 history.

鈥淭his park was a little tricky given that it鈥檚 built upon a landfill, is within the Japanese Beetle Control Zone, and was required to match into the existing structures,鈥� he said.

Although there were challenges, Transition Construction knew what was at stake, according to PD. 鈥淚 think they were the perfect choice [to complete the upgrades] because they understood the responsibility they were being given, which is pretty heavy if you鈥檙e in the skateboard community, and probably not so much if you aren鈥檛,鈥� he laughed.

PD was pleasantly surprised when he visited China Creek Skatepark a couple of weeks before it reopened. Although the budget wasn鈥檛 huge, the result was impressive, he said.

鈥淟ook what they ended up doing,鈥� PD said. 鈥淭hat to me said they really put a lot of love into it.鈥�

Jason McMillen, a landscape architect and part of the Vancouver Park Board鈥檚 Park Development team, was involved in the Vancouver Skateboard Amenities Strategy. That strategy prioritized the renewal of China Creek Skatepark due to its age and condition. McMillen said China Creek Skatepark has gone through several generations of skateboarders. After several rounds of city-wide engagement, he was struck by how many people felt closely connected to it, having grown up in the space.

鈥淭he goal that we heard was to try to honour the heritage and existing layout the best we could but give it a refresh around the edges and complement those features to improve them,鈥� he said.

There was a palpable buzz while Transition Construction was completing the upgrades, and Maley said that before the reopening in October, it was next to impossible to keep skateboarders out. 鈥淭he Vancouver skateboard community had been waiting for this for a very long time and their excitement was overwhelming, in a good way,鈥� he said.

The skateboard community wasn鈥檛 disappointed. The vast majority of the feedback received since the opening has been positive, McMillen confirmed.

McIntyre said that he and the team at Transition Construction are thrilled to have contributed to preserving a part of Canadian skateboarding history.  The upgrades included 鈥渁dding some rad stuff without messing up the old lines.鈥� People can still skate their old lines, or completely avoid the bowls, he said. New features have been added for beginners, and those looking for a challenge won鈥檛 be disappointed.

鈥淢y hope is that it will become a place of community where people come together to have a good time, build skills, friendships and relationships; a place where everyone can feel safe and included,鈥� McIntyre said. 

How fitting, McIntyre said, that a skatepark initially built on throwaway land and treated like a garbage dump, has now become the jewel of the neighbourhood.