Calgary’s longstanding bylaw banning skateboard ramps on private property is outdated and should be scrapped, says Ward 8 Coun. Evan Woolley.

The inner-city councillor says he will introduce a notice of motion by the end of June to repeal the existing rule and allow homeowners to build ramps on their yards — a practice the city outlawed in the mid-1980s over growing hue and cry the wooden structures were dangerous, unsightly and noisy.

“Skateboarding is very mainstream,” Woolley said. “We should have no business deciding what kind of activities we allow and don’t allow in a backyard around sports.

“Let’s not forget, skateboarding is a sport,” he added. “If someone wanted to put a little ice rink in their backyard so their kids could play sports we would fully let them do that.”
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The backlash against skateboarding in Calgary stretches back to the 1980s when the sport experienced a surge in popularity among kids and teenagers.

With few amenities, skaters typically honed their skills on city streets, sidewalks, parking lots and, in rare instances, in their backyards on large three-to four-metre-high “vert” ramps, popularized by then teenage professional riders like Tony Hawk and Christian Hosoi.

City officials reacted by banning skateboarding on most sidewalks and roads and by 1986 began cracking down on the proliferation of ramps that could have “a detrimental impact on adjacent properties,” according to a planning commission report at the time.

Former alderwoman Barb Scott described the growing number of ramps as a “critical, critical problem” successfully spearheaded the bylaw that remain in place today.

Over the past 30 years, the public’s perception of skateboarding has shifted dramatically as the sport grew into a multi-billion-dollar industry and gained mainstream acceptance through high-profile televised competitions.

Cities across North America slowly began building skateboard facilities, including Calgary’s renown Shaw Millenium Park, which opened to much fanfare in 2000.

Yet Calgary may be the only major Canadian municipality that prohibits ramps on private property, said Zev Klymochko, founder of the Calgary Association of Skateboarding Enthusiasts.

“No one wants a 12-foot-tall vert ramp in their neighbours’ backyard that obstructs their views,” Klymochko said. “And that’s not what we’re expecting. Now it’s mostly mini-ramps, which average about four feet in height.”

Wade Cose, 41, stood on his first skateboard 30 years ago.

Seven years ago, Cose built a four-foot by 16-foot mini-ramp in the backyard of his southeast home. Within six months, the city forced him to tear it down. He promptly dismantled the ramp and moved it into a newly built garage, where it remains.

“We were going to build a garage eventually, but it was always going to have a mini-ramp in it,” he said.

“If they’re really looking at it I would say put some limitations on it for size. You don’t want someone putting a vert ramp in their backyard,” Cose said.

Klymochko said Calgary’s building and noise bylaws could prevent larger ramps from being built or used too early in the morning or late at night.

Further, he said allowing ramps on private property promotes a healthy activity and lets parents monitor their kids in a relatively safe environment instead of having them skateboard on the street.