Backside 360 at Budget Committee

Skatepark off the chopping block in city budget

A roller skater at the Halifax Skatepark in early September 2025. Photo by Antonia Zwissler

by Antonia Zwissler

At the Halifax Skatepark, kids shred on BMX bikes and scooters, teens film each other’s skateboard tricks, roller skaters learn how to go down a slope backwards. On the other side of Citadel Hill, at City Hall, the park’s future hangs in the balance.

A budget line item of $4.3M to redo the Commons Skatepark took up much of Halifax’s Budget Committee meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The skatepark is in District 7, which makes enough money in property taxes every year for 20 skateparks. But fixing the skatepark faced pushback from District 4 councillor Trish Purdy who asked “is this a priority for this year… to do that?” District 4 operates at a $5M annual loss.

The meeting was to approve $16.5M of the capital budget before the start of the new fiscal year in April so that city staff can start admin work in the months ahead in what’s know as advanced tenders. The skatepark was the second most expensive of 11 advanced tenders. The first was $5.6M to keep roads and active transportation infrastructure in a state of good repair. The third was $3M for the Greenfoot Energy Centre arena.

Parks and Recreation noted the need for a new skatepark in 2021, and it’s less than 1% of the projected 26/27 capital budget.

However, this budget season, nothing is off the table.