City of Lethbridge to retire Dave Elton Skate Park

The City of Lethbridge is moving forward with plans to retire the Dave Elton Skate Park.

The decision follows a thorough review of the site’s condition, usage patterns and future potential for community development.

The city says the skate park’s aging infrastructure has become increasingly difficult to maintain and data collected since 2023 shows the park is underutilized, with most activity occurring late at night.

The current site is earmarked for the expansion of the BMX track.

Work to convert the space back to a natural area will take about a month.

“The condition is quite poor, and we’ve noticed the usage is way down, and we actually put in counting devices over the last couple of years to monitor how many people were coming and when they were coming, and we’re just not seeing very many numbers, and most of those numbers are occurring in the evenings, so probably for hanging out, non-recreational activity,” said Blair Richter, City of Lethbridge general manager of parks and cemeteries.

While the Dave Elton location will be closing, there are three other skate parks throughout the city.