by Lorraine Carpenter, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

NDG residents who’ve been calling for a skatepark in their neighbourhood for years can finally look forward to their dream becoming a reality. On Wednesday, the City of Montreal announced that Skatepark Benny will be opening in 2025.

“This skatepark has been a longstanding demand of the borough’s population, but especially of the neighbourhood’s young people. And they’re right: there’s no skatepark worthy of the name in our borough,” says NDG/CDN borough mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa. “It’s high time we had a skatepark that meets the needs of the population of Montreal’s largest borough.”

Katahwa said that the construction contract for this skatepark will be awarded next week.

This news follows several efforts by NDG residents to get a skatepark built in the neighbourhood, dating back to 2014. Most recently, a petition in 2021 gained a lot of steam online, with the need for outdoor sports and leisure infrastructure heightened by the pandemic.