26-05-2025
Barron Bowl project scaled back due to rising costs
A nearly decade-long effort to enhance a skateboarding park in honour of a Windsor man killed in a hit-and-run has fallen short of its goal, but there's still a plan to see something done in his memory.
An administration report going to Monday's council meeting is asking for approval to provide $59,261 from the Parks Community Partnership Initiative Capital Project to move forward with smaller improvements at the Ryan Barron Memorial Skate Park located in Atkinson Park.
The funding would be paired with $18,739 in donations raised by the Friends for Atkinson Park along with $40,522 in ward funds already provided to help build a skateboarding bowl in the park.
When the 'Barron Bowl' project was first proposed in 2016, it was estimated it would cost $100,000-$120,000 to install a full skateboarding bowl, but the estimated cost now stands at $400,000-$450,000 due to inflation and rising costs, and construction has yet to begin.
As a result, the father of Ryan Barron has asked city administration to reprioritize the money that's been raised to fund improvements to the skate park, which could include rails and various concrete ramps to be determined through stakeholder consultation.
Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante says it's a very busy skateboarding park.
'All you have to do is go there any given evening, and you'll see how busy it is. It's all ages. You've got young kids, not-so-young adults, and everyone in between,' he says. 'There's broad consensus to do more. This is an effort in doing more and honouring his legacy.'
Costante added, the original proposal is now out of reach in terms of the price and what the cost would be to maintain the bowl.
'It seemed only logical to focus on expanding the skate park in a reasonable way given the funds that we have and given what we can do that's within our control and still honour the late Ryan Barron,' he says.
Barron, 30, was riding his skateboard in Vancouver in April of 2016 when he was killed in a hit-and-run.
In 2018, Vancouver police arrested the then 23-year-old Amanpreet Singh Sohal in connection to the case.
In 2020, Sohal was sentenced to 18 months in prison plus a one-year driving ban after pleading guilty to a charge of failure to stop at an accident causing bodily harm.
Atkinson Park is located at 2005 Riverside Dr. W, while the skate park is at the opposite end of the park at 1934 University Ave. W.
City council meets Monday at 10 a.m.
— Rusty Thomson/AM800 News
