A Phoenix Parks and Recreation sub-committee narrowed their search Wednesday on two locations to build a new urban skate plaza with funds provided by professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek.
The new skate plaza will be placed at one of two parks in downtown Phoenix. The committee reduced the location options to either Margaret T. Hance or Townsend parks.
The criteria for the skate plaza’s location required it be within Phoenix City Council District 7, in central Phoenix, and near the light rail and bus service.
The criteria set meets what Dyrdek wanted accomplished with his donation, which is to provide an urban skate park in downtown Phoenix immersed within the community, committee member Chris Ewell said.
Journalism junior Tony Grandlienard said the skate park will be a great addition to downtown.
“It’s convenient to downtown because there are no skate parks in the area, and it will help revitalize the image of downtown Phoenix,” he said. “Kids will take advantage of it.”
Committee members said Wednesday that the two existing parks meet the requirements but also have drawbacks.
Margaret T. Hance Park lies on top of the Interstate 10 tunnel between 7th Avenue and 7th Street. Documents provided at the meeting laid out several problems, including difficult police patrol, new construction and impact to the freeway tunnel that must be avoided.
Jim Burke, assistant director of the committee, said the problem with the tunnel shouldn’t be a major issue, but a solid answer will not be given until the committee discusses the design with the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Townsend Park, which is on 7th Street and McDowell Road, had more positive attributes than Margaret T. Hance Park, but the committee agreed that the intersection might be dangerous to the youth during peak traffic hours. New construction and unknown neighborhood reception were other drawbacks mentioned in the documents provided at the meeting.
Ewell, also a landscape architect for Phoenix Parks and Recreation, said California Skateparks will design the 7,000 to 10,000 square feet plaza.
California Skateparks is responsible for many of Arizona’s skate parks and others around the country, according to its website. The company was responsible for constructing Street League at the Jobing.com arena.
Street League, which is sponsored by Monster, is a skateboarding competition that just toured in Phoenix and will run through Ontario, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Downtown Phoenix will be the sixth city to have a Safe Spot Skate Spot, after the park is built. Dyrdek named these locations to parallel the importance of safety and legal street skating.
“Many students come to downtown Phoenix just to skate on the structures,” committee chairwoman Delia Ortega-Nowakowski said. By building the skate plaza downtown, it would help with safety and prevent damage to the city, but most of all give the youth a place to skate.
Committee members will meet next week to solidify their decision for which park will host the skate plaza. They will invite neighbors and businesses of the park to discuss ideas and suggestions.
Contact the reporter at isotorod@asu.edu
