Why Helsinki is demolishing its internationally known skate park

Helsinki plans to dismantle the internationally known Suvilahti DIY skate park in October for a bus turnaround whose long-term future is already uncertain. The site may later serve a Hanasaari bus terminal, while a planned cultural events center for the area also remains unconfirmed.

The immediate reason is transport. The city needs a turnaround on Kaasutehtaankatu so buses arriving from the direction of Lahti Highway can travel via Koksinkatu and Vilhonvuorenkatu, then continue toward stops on Leonkatu. At least six bus routes would initially use the new facility, which would also include waiting areas for buses.

Riikka Österlund, a traffic engineer for the Kalasatama district, said Helsinki was under pressure from the regional transport authority to proceed because other parts of the broader traffic plan had already been completed. The city has planned the road as part of the area's transport network for more than a decade, before the cultural events center was zoned.

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At this moment, the biggest reason Suvilahti DIY is being demolished is that we urgently need a bus turnaround on Kaasutehtaankatu.

The turnaround is not intended as a permanent solution. Helsinki wants to move buses later to a new terminal in Hanasaari, but there is no certainty that terminal will be built. The road and a field would be constructed first, while the planned events center would come later.

Suvilahti DIY has operated since 2011. Its name refers to a park built by skaters themselves, who have also maintained it. The park has become a communal space and a major part of Helsinki's independent urban culture. It operated under a temporary lease repeatedly extended by the city, and many residents have opposed its demolition. Helsinki has also used the park's imagery in its own marketing.

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We are under pressure from HSL to implement this project now, because the other parts of the broader transport plan have already been completed.