'Skate spot' to open Saturday at Centennial Park
By Derek Simmonsen
dsimmonsen@patuxent.com
Posted 4/24/09
After years of lobbying county officials, local skateboarders will celebrate Saturday as the county opens the first of several planned “skate spots” in the county.
The grand opening takes place April 25 at 11 a.m. at Centennial Park North, at 9801 Old Annapolis Road, in Ellicott City. There will be a skating demonstration, door prizes and free giveaways.
“I’m really happy. It’s a dream come true,” said Daniel Lesko, 18, a local high school student and avid skater who has lobbied for the park.
Recreation and Parks director Gary Arthur said he was first approached in April 2007 by two county youth who wanted to see public skateboarding facilities added in local parks. Lesko soon became involved and “got the ball rolling” on adding a skate spot to Centennial Park, Arthur said.
County officials decided to put the 95-by-60 foot skating area on top of an under-used basketball court in Centennial, because it is located roughly in the center of the county, he said. Lesko and fellow skateboarders participated in the design, coordinating via video conferences with the company that contracted out the work, Arthur said.
Construction on the skate spot was delayed after the company building it was bought out by another company, Arthur said. County parks staff put final touches on the skate spot by installing the completed skate ramps after receiving them about two weeks ago, he said.
The skate area will not be supervised, although there will be rules posted and park rangers will periodically stop by to check on it, Arthur said. The park is open until dusk and skateboarders are asked to wear helmets, knee and elbow pads and to be courteous to one another, operating on a first-come, first-served philosophy.
Parks staff added some landscaping to screen the skate spot from neighbors, Arthur added.
Other skate spots are in the works for North Laurel Community Center and Park, Blandair Regional Park and Rockburn Branch Park. There also have been requests to add them at Savage and Western Regional parks, Arthur said.
The skate spots cost about $130,000 — less than typical playground equipment — making them an attractive way to add new park features for relatively little money, Arthur said. Skating areas will likely be part of any future parks project, he said.
Columbia Association board of directors chairman Tom O’Connor said during Thursday night’s association board meeting that he was pleased to see the skate spot come together, especially because the push for the facility was prompted by a complaint against skateboarders riding boards in the Dorsey’s Search Village Center.
Meetings between upset residents and skateboarders helped add momentum to the idea for the skate spot, he said.
“This is a very wonderful result of something that could have been very bad,” O’Connor said. “They just need places to go and this is a good deal.”
The grand opening takes place April 25 at 11 a.m. at Centennial Park North, at 9801 Old Annapolis Road, in Ellicott City. There will be a skating demonstration, door prizes and free giveaways.
“I’m really happy. It’s a dream come true,” said Daniel Lesko, 18, a local high school student and avid skater who has lobbied for the park.
Recreation and Parks director Gary Arthur said he was first approached in April 2007 by two county youth who wanted to see public skateboarding facilities added in local parks. Lesko soon became involved and “got the ball rolling” on adding a skate spot to Centennial Park, Arthur said.
County officials decided to put the 95-by-60 foot skating area on top of an under-used basketball court in Centennial, because it is located roughly in the center of the county, he said. Lesko and fellow skateboarders participated in the design, coordinating via video conferences with the company that contracted out the work, Arthur said.
Construction on the skate spot was delayed after the company building it was bought out by another company, Arthur said. County parks staff put final touches on the skate spot by installing the completed skate ramps after receiving them about two weeks ago, he said.
The skate area will not be supervised, although there will be rules posted and park rangers will periodically stop by to check on it, Arthur said. The park is open until dusk and skateboarders are asked to wear helmets, knee and elbow pads and to be courteous to one another, operating on a first-come, first-served philosophy.
Parks staff added some landscaping to screen the skate spot from neighbors, Arthur added.
Other skate spots are in the works for North Laurel Community Center and Park, Blandair Regional Park and Rockburn Branch Park. There also have been requests to add them at Savage and Western Regional parks, Arthur said.
The skate spots cost about $130,000 — less than typical playground equipment — making them an attractive way to add new park features for relatively little money, Arthur said. Skating areas will likely be part of any future parks project, he said.
Columbia Association board of directors chairman Tom O’Connor said during Thursday night’s association board meeting that he was pleased to see the skate spot come together, especially because the push for the facility was prompted by a complaint against skateboarders riding boards in the Dorsey’s Search Village Center.
Meetings between upset residents and skateboarders helped add momentum to the idea for the skate spot, he said.
“This is a very wonderful result of something that could have been very bad,” O’Connor said. “They just need places to go and this is a good deal.”
user comments (1)
user ldgalvez says...
This is way overdue. There is a very large skate community where we live in North Laurel. The kids are great, but they just need some place to skate. I am hoping that more will be available for them. It's their passion and it keeps them from getting into trouble. I think that many business' would be glad to contribute, so that they would not be chasing kids away from doing what they love.
Posted 2:38 PM, 04.25.09 | Permalink
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