Skate and Ride Demand Grows as Warmer Weather Nears:
By Staff Report
As spring approaches, residents in Richmond Hill are once again looking for ways to get outside—on wheels. From skateboards to bicycles, demand for safe, dedicated spaces is rising, but many say the suburb still lags behind in providing the infrastructure to support it.
Unlike Toronto’s The Bentway—a unique public space stretching roughly 1.75 kilometres beneath the elevated Gardiner Expressway—Richmond Hill offers limited dedicated bike lanes and few purpose-built areas for skating. The Bentway connects several neighbourhoods and features a continuous multi-use trail used for cycling, running, and skating. In warmer months, its wide, smooth concrete surfaces attract skateboarders and rollerbladers, while in winter a portion is converted into a skating trail. The space also integrates lighting, seating areas, and event programming, making it both a transportation corridor and a destination.
In contrast, riders and skaters in Richmond Hill often find themselves sharing roads with cars or navigating fragmented trails that don’t always connect key parts of the community.
Skating, long seen as counterculture, has increasingly been embraced as both a sport and a form of urban mobility. Yet in a sprawling suburb designed largely around cars, some enthusiasts say they have little choice but to adapt—using sidewalks, parking lots, or even commuting longer distances to find suitable terrain.
With more residents seeking active, outdoor options, the conversation around expanding bike lanes and creating multi-use recreational corridors is gaining urgency. For now, though, many in Richmond Hill continue to roll wherever space allows.