While the City boasts 14 outdoor skateparks, come winter there isn’t a single place dedicated for skateboarding. For over 20 years Toronto has provided the same insufficient indoor skateboard programming consisting of a few hours a week at an indoor recreation center. Thanks in part to the Olympics and the pandemic, skateboarding has recently exploded in popularity, with women and girls making up many of the new riders. Skaters of all ages are willing to risk receiving $500 trespassing tickets just to skate in spaces such as parking garages and indoor shopping centers, however criminalization isn’t the only risk they face in these unsupervised spaces. In January, fifteen-year-old year old skateboarder Jordon Carter was shot and killed in a parking garage in East York two days after a historic snowstorm. Police identified the shooter as a 13 year old boy. Had either of these boys been given a better place to be, it’s entirely possible this tragedy could have been prevented. For winter sports like hockey that can be played outdoors in winter, Toronto has 49 indoor ice skating rinks, in addition to 38 rinks outdoors. This is a gross disparity that favours privilege, as skateboarding is among the most popular low barrier outlets for youth at risk. The goal of this campaign is to demonstrate to the City Councillors, the Mayor, and the parks department that the time has come to establish a free, indoor, and supervised space dedicated to skateboarding for the winter season of 2022/2023. Skateboarders in Toronto can’t wait any longer. 

Sign our petition to City Councilors, the Mayor, and Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation division.