 "Photo: Harmony Reforma")
Ollies, nosegrinds and kickflips may soon dominate Mabel Davis Park. Ledges, stairs and handrails will make up the majority of a 12,000-square-foot, concrete skatepark accommodating local skaters as they slide their sticker-clad, four-wheeled platforms around corners and down hills.
After six years of pushing for a city skatepark, the skateboarding community will finally have their haven. The City Council approved the construction of Austin's first public skatepark at the May 19 council meeting. Construction begins this month and should be completed by the end of the summer.
"I promised a whole bunch of kids a long time ago that we would build this skatepark, and I'm very pleased to be able to deliver on that promise today," Mayor Will Wynn said in a written statement. "This skatepark is going to rock."
Seth Johnson, of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee, spearheaded the push for a public skatepark. He commended the City of Austin and the Parks and Recreation Department for "really listening to local skaters" in the development of the park.
The park, Johnson said, will have no rules for wearing helmets or pads and will have no supervision, keeping the public skatepark free for skaters. The park will also mark the fifth new concrete skatepark in Texas since last summer.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Warren Struss said he supports the skatepark construction as a new recreational facility for youths and young adults.
"It goes beyond saying that there is a huge need and demand for a public skateboarding opportunity in Austin," Struss said.
Struss and Johnson also said the new skatepark will help meet the mayor's goal of Austin becoming the "fittest city" in the country within the next two years. Both said they believe in the importance of investing in a facility that will see heavy usage day after day.
"This skatepark is the type of recreational facility that I think we're going to see will attract hundreds and usually thousands of skateboarders," Johnson said.
Privately-owned and a frequent host to competetive skateboarding, Skatepark of Austin has been open for three years. An employee there said the staff is not worried about losing business to the new park because Skatepark of Austin is indoor, giving it the flexibility to operate year-round. But the employee also said he thinks the new park will benefit Austin skaters, giving them an outdoor, public facility for skateboarding.
Philip Speer, manager of Tekgnar skateshop and local skateboarder, said the construction of the new skatepark is long overdue and is something skaters have been wanting for 15 years. Austin, Speer said, has a strong skateboarding community and, in turn, needs a public park.
"Kids will have a place to skate where all they have to think about is skateboarding," he said.
Speer and Johnson said there are some negative aspects to the park. Speer is concerned with the park's location in southeast Austin and kids' ability to get there. In response, Johnson said that Mabel Davis was chosen, in part, for its proximity to a bus line, and he hopes other areas of the city will be inspired to push for skateparks in those neighborhoods as well. Johnson is concerned that the park could become too crowded but hopes that will encourage people to ask for more public Austin skateparks.
The city contracted the Mac Corporation, which then subcontracted Grindline Skateparks, to design and construct the new addition to Mabel Davis Park. Grindline has designed skateparks all over the country - some of the best, Johnson said. The company designed the new skateparks in Corpus Christi and Amarillo.
In a statement to the City Council, Johnson said skateboarding, for most youth, is a passion, "and it is a positive passion, something that we as a community should support, rather than try to prosecute. This skatepark is going to do a great job supporting that."
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