In the past, Daniel Lesko and his friends would travel to Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia in order to find a place where they could legally skateboard.

Now, Lesko has to go no farther than Centennial Park North, in Ellicott City, where county officials unveiled the first of several planned “skate spots” Saturday.

“I’m really happy. It’s a dream come true,” said Lesko, 18, a high school senior and avid skaterboarder who has been lobbying for more facilities in the county.

Recreation and Parks director Gary Arthur said he was first approached about public skateboarding facilities in April 2007 by two county teens. 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 at the center of the county, he said. Lesko and fellow skateboarders participated in the design, coordinating via video conference with the company that designed the facility, Arthur said.

“We told them what we wanted and saw the skate park come to life on screen,” Lesko said. “We got to see exactly where everything would be.”

The facility was set to open in the fall, but construction was delayed after the company building it, Solo Ramps, was bought out by the American Ramp Company last year, Arthur said. In early April, the company sent the completed ramps to the county and parks staff installed them, he said.

Columbia Association board of directors chairman Tom O’Connor said during his final association board meeting last week that he was pleased to see the skate spot come together. The push for the facility was prompted by a complaint against skateboarders riding in the Dorsey’s Search Village Center, the village he represents, he said.

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.”

County Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty said she became involved in the matter after she was contacted by residents whose children were banned from skating in Dorsey’s Search. She helped local teens meet with Arthur and encouraged them to speak out at public meetings.

“I’m thrilled that the kids actually got to work with Recreation and Parks to come up with a plan so that it is kid-approved,” she said.

While the Columbia Association operates a skate park facility, it charges fees to use it and its hours are not always convenient for young people, Sigaty said.
 
Sigaty said more than 100 skateboarders attended the grand opening over the weekend, representing a variety of ages, from young children to high-schoolers.

Some neighbors of the facility previously complained about its location, worried about unsupervised youth and noise. Arthur said parks staff were not able to address all concerns, but added landscaping to screen the skate spot from nearby neighbors.

He also said the skate spot is open from dawn to dusk and that if neighbors see people there after-hours, they should alert police. Park rangers will periodically check on skaters, but a proposal to add video camera monitoring to the skating area was dropped because it was too expensive, Arthur said.

Rules posted at the site ask skateboarders to wear helmets, knee and elbow pads and to be courteous to one another, operating on a first-come, first-served philosophy.

Other skate spots are in the works for North Laurel Community Center and Park, Blandair Regional Park in Columbia and Rockburn Branch Park in Elkridge. 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.

Having young people advise the county on parks projects is a practice that is likely to continue, Arthur said.

“It’s a trend that has come of age,” Arthur said. “They keep us up-to-date with ongoing trends. We might be considering things that were popular to us back in the day that may not be so popular anymore.”

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