Okotoks skateboarders are one step closer to having a new park to ride this fall and they now have an idea of what it’s going to look like.
As part of the $200,000 skate park improvement project, residents were invited to a design workshop on May 29 to give their input on the different features they would like to see included in the new park. Newline Skateparks Inc, the company leading the project, took the feedback and presented two designs for skateboarders to choose from on July 3 at the recreation centre.
Skateboarder Brian Heinrich was impressed with designs and felt that the feedback had been incorporated nicely.
“Both are really good, but there’s no clear winner for me,” Heinrich said. “It would have to be a combination of both.”
Combining the two designs is an option that Newline Vice President Trevor Morgan said is definitely on the table.
“It might end up being a mix,” he said. “A lot of enthusiasm from this group tonight and good ideas for final tweak and refinement.”
Morgan said the biggest design change they’re looking at is adding a strong turnaround piece at the park’s north end, as well as another at the south. There will be an added A-frame as well as a hubba, and the rest will involve generally repositioning the existing features and restoring the park.
“We’ll clean up the areas that are deteriorating, just correcting a lot of poor dimensioning on some of the existing features and replacing them with a lot of versatile plaza features,” he said. “It’s going to be the best it can be, but keep in mind that we’re fixing a park that wasn’t built right 12 years ago.”
Morgan said he considers the designs Newline presented to be incredibly versatile.
“With these pieces, I’m sure you guys will interpret how to skate it for years to come,” he said.
The July 3 meeting was the final step in the input phase, from there Morgan said they’ll fine tune the design and then head into construction within the next month.
It’s unknown if the park will be able to remain partially open throughout the summer, but Morgan said it’s generally easier to close the park completely so construction can move quicker.
While Morgan said they’ll be playing it by ear, he estimates that the park would be closed for five or six weeks, with an opening date for the new park early this fall.
