Surrey skateboarders seek answers about local skatepark’s future

Uncertainty is growing among skateboarders in Surrey as Chuck Bailey Skatepark (CBS) changes during the expansion of Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre. The park, in Whalley beside the recreation centre, was completed in 2011 with a budget of nearly $1.3 million. Mike Willms, a Surrey resident and youth worker with Youth Unlimited, attended its opening and used the park for years. Many obstacles were removed or fenced off when the expansion began. Willms recalled that when then-mayor Dianne Watts cut the ribbon, people felt, “This is it!” They did not expect the park to last only about a decade before changes came.

Willms said he attended a public engagement forum at CBS in 2022, where people could ask about the expansion and the skatepark’s future. He spoke with a landscape architect at an architectural firm who was planning to remove two elements of the park. The architect asked how one element could be removed without affecting the others, and Willms replied that it was a question for New Line. Willms said New Line Skate Parks Inc., which was contracted to build the park, had not been told about the future construction or changes. At the forum, he contacted someone who had worked at New Line. Willms said the person was surprised by the expansion and offered to contact the City of Surrey because CBS was one of the company’s “proudest projects.”

According to a City of Surrey release, a 2025 council vote awarded a $65.5-million contract for an expansion of Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre that would add indoor and outdoor amenities. A city survey conducted in 2021 found CBS was the third most cited reason for visits to the recreation centre. It also described the skatepark as “well used and should be retained.” The city’s website, however, does not say what the skatepark will look like in the future.

After Peace Arch News contacted the city, it received a statement recognizing CBS’s importance to skateboarders in Surrey. The city said the “park remains open during construction and will continue to be a part of the site,” but did not provide details about its future. Although the park remains open to the public, Willms said the obstacles that are still available are used only by experienced skateboarders, and there is nothing left to cater to beginners.

Willms said anti-skateboarding rhetoric remains prevalent in society, stemming from the early 1990s, when skateboarding was seen as criminal activity and considered antisocial behaviour. He takes the opposite view, describing skateboarding as an important outlet, especially for young people. He called it “one of the most fabulous, creative, style-based and artistic sports,” adding that it is a very creative activity.

Travis Emerson, another Surrey resident who has skated at CBS for many years, is also frustrated with the park’s condition. “I don’t think anyone really uses the park anymore, at all. The whole skate community is gone,” he said. Willms said skateboarders in Whalley can go to other skateparks in Surrey, but CBS felt different because it was well built, easy to access and a popular destination for skateboarders from elsewhere. He said he had met people from across Canada there, as well as someone from Germany who had always wanted to skate at the park.

Many people have asked Willms what will happen to the skatepark. He said he does not know, and that “there is a whole community of people that are in the dark.” More information about the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre expansion is available at https://www.surrey.ca/about-surrey/capital-projects/chuck-bailey-recreation-centre-expansion.