Vancouver roller skaters heartbroken over proposed relocation of rink

'There's nothing like it,' says Vancouver roller skating instructor Lorne Milne, who is trying to help save the rink at Sunset Beach.

It started two decades ago when a few inline skaters saw opportunity in an empty beachside lot.

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"We’d meet there after work to train, perform tricks and balance exercises together," says roller skating instructor Lorne Milne.

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Word spread fast, with the group growing to 700 skaters who called on the Vancouver park board to designate the paved Sunset Beach spot as Vancouver's first outdoor rink.

Since then, from spring to fall, hundreds of Vancouver residents skate or play roller hockey in the rink, which is cordoned off by cement barriers.

"There's nothing like it. People get off work, park their cars and whip out their skates for a ride among friends with an oceanside view," Milne said.

"You get a good ocean breeze while you’re moving and there are loads of spectators passing by on foot and bike along the adjacent seawall path."

But that's at risk of changing with the city's new proposal to redevelop the West End waterfront.

Under the Imagine West End Waterfront plan – which is seeking to make the 38 hectares spanning English Bay, Sunset Beach Park, Morton Park, Alexandra Park and Beach Avenue more resilient to the effects of climate change – the rink would be no longer.

Outdoor roller skaters would be regulated to use a skateboard park and plaza, proposed for beside or under the Burrard Street Bridge.

Many of Vancouver's inline skaters are not happy about it.

"A skateboard park is not a rink," says Bonnie McKeeman, who frequents the outdoor spot for disco-related skating events.

"We need a safe, flat surface for roller skating and dancing. Losing the Sunset Beach rink would be a huge loss to the community."

A change.org petition created last month to save the 20-year-old recreation space has garnered more than 200 signatures.

"It is completely heartbreaking," said Milne, who says the move will come with a host of problems.

"We will be forced to skate in the shadows, in an area that is much smaller and on uneven ground with an echo factor."

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The park board says the draft designs could change based on public feedback, which it is currently gathering through virtual community meetings, an online survey and in-person pop-up events.

"We have been seeking input from all impacted groups and communities on the proposed preliminary design ideas; the feedback we receive will be vital in shaping the final concept," spokesperson Amanda Gibbs told Postmedia News in an email.

"Certain elements shown in the design approaches may appear in different locations in the final plan, based on the feedback we receive."

Parks employees have already met with roller skating organizations including Sunset54 Roller Disco, BadBounce BIPOC Skaters and Vancouver Skate Coalition about the redesign.

While a draft concept is set to be released in fall, the final plan will be up for approval by the park board later this year.

If roller bladers are forced to move to a skateboard park plaza in False Creek, McKeeman and Milne said they won't use it.

"It would be like dancing on a skill hill. I wouldn't feel safe," McKeeman said.

Milne says Vancouver roller skaters frequent at Sunset Beach because of the scenery: "They either go there or loop around Stanley Park."

"Being sandwiched between a bridge, condo and food trucks isn't ideal for outdoor recreation," he added.

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