Skate park in city's west named in memory of community builder
Skateboarder, mentor's legacy lives on with designation, other project in works
A well-known Windsor community builder killed in a hit-and-run collision seven years ago has been immortalized at a west-end skate park.
Family members of Ryan Barron joined city officials on Tuesday to unveil new signs for what is now known as the Ryan Barron Memorial Skate Park on University Avenue, a place where Barron fostered belonging among local skateboarders.
“This park isn't just a place that Ryan came to skate,” said a tearful Terry Barron, Ryan's father. “It's a place where he felt he was part of a community, a place where he helped make community flourish, believing that whether you were a seasoned skater or someone coming here for the first time, you belong.
“It is up to you, the next generation of skateboarders, BMX riders, roller skaters and bladers, and scooter dudes, to carry on that tradition of community and make this place that I'm sure Ryan would be proud of.”
Ryan Barron was killed on April 17, 2016, at age 30 while skateboarding with a friend in a residential neighbourhood when he was hit by a fast-moving compact car. The vehicle's driver left the scene without stopping.
In 2020, Amanpreet Singh Sohal was sentenced to 18 months in jail and issued a one-year driving ban for Barron's death. He pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident causing death.
Joe Migliore on Tuesday said having the skate park named in memory of Ryan Barron, his close friend, meant “a heck of a lot.”
“It brings on a lot of emotions in me,” Migliore said. “(Ryan) was a mentor here. He helped a lot of people. He's very deserving (of having) this spot named after him.
“I know that he's here right now. I can feel his presence with us.”
Ryan Barron was a graduate of Tilbury District High School and is remembered as a committed musician, skateboarder, and friend willing to help others.
In 2019, the City of Windsor approved construction of the “Barron Bowl” — a concrete skateboarding bowl to be built on the south side of Windsor's Atkinson Park at 2005 Riverside Dr. W. and named in tribute to Ryan Barron.
The project, which is relying on community fundraising, was delayed by the COVID -19 pandemic. Cost estimates for the bowl have risen by about half over the past four years from roughly $200,000 to around $300,000.
Ryan Barron's friends and family continue to work with the Friends of Atkinson Park and Pool committee to fundraise for the project. So far, Terry Barron said, about $60,000 has been raised.
Ray Mensour, city commissioner of community services, said he's hopeful funds for the Barron Bowl will be raised and the project will be built “in no time.”
“Until then, naming the skate park is a way for us to ensure that Ryan's legacy lives on for the future generations of skateboarders to come,” Mensour said.
Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante called the skate park an “incredible success story” that has served residents and families in the west end and across the region.
“To honour Ryan in this way is really a regional honouring of the life that he lived and the people that he's influenced,” Costante said.
Costante said he wants the skate park enrolled in the city's asset management plan. That way, the city will be responsible for the repair and replacement of the skate park.