This evening I attended the Skatepark Design Workshop held at Audubon Recreation Center. City staff and design professionals from SPA Skateparks and New Line Skateparks were there to provide information and receive input from citizens. Given the history of the skatepark process, it is a controversial topic in Garland to say the least.
However, what was undeniable tonight was the enthusiasm for seeing a skatepark come to fruition. The small multipurpose room was packed with teens and young adults who wanted to a part of the process. I estimate that more than 100 people attended.
Trevor Morgan from New Line Skateparks provided a history of skateboarding and a Skateboarding 101 lesson for the uninitiated in the room. What stood out in his presentation was his intent as the design professional to integrate artistic elements including skateable sculptures, art and landscape features. I am confident after seeing the presentation that we will not be getting a big slab of concrete that looks like an empty swimming pool. Examples of New Line Skateparks designs can be found on their website http://www.newlineskateparks.com/projects.
The attendees had the opportunity to provide their input through a “dot-ocracy” where they placed a colored dot on pictures of the elements they would most like to see in a skatepark. Each person was given three large dots for their top three choices and six smaller dots for additional elements they would like to see incorporated in the design. Judging from the dots, quarterpipes, funbox features, gaps, miniramps, and snakerun features appeared to be the most popular.
The city staff and design professionals also provided a link to a survey which will be available for those who were able to attend the meeting to provide input. It is important that citizens continue to provide their input and come to future meetings as we work through this process. The survey is available at http://bit.ly/skategarland.
I also encourage you to reach out to me directly if you would like to share your opinion with me. I can be reached at dylan@hedrickforgarland.com.
At the end of each blog post, I will provide a musical selection. Let’s keep this fun.