With thousands of skateboarders in Seattle and only two public skateparks, Seattle Parks and Recreation and a City Council-appointed task force are working on creating a citywide plan to help provide public facilities for the sport. Several locations have been singled out in Southeast Seattle.
Using input from three public meetings and an open house held this past spring, the Seattle Skatepark Advisory Task Force has, over the last several months, drafted site selection criteria. A list of locations will undergo further consideration at three upcoming public meetings. Parks and the Task Force invite the public to comment on the draft list.
The first meeting will take place Monday, Oct. 2, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Garfield Community Center, 2323 E. Cherry St. The second meeting will take place Thursday Oct. 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way S.W. The third meeting will take place on Saturday Oct. 7, 1-3 p.m. at Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave. N.E.
After these public meetings, the Task Force will consider the community input from the public meetings, input from the owners of the properties and how to distribute potential facilities in a geographically equitable way, and will narrow the list based on their consideration of those factors. The Task Force will present its recommendations to the City Council Parks, Education, Libraries, and Labor Committee at its Dec. 6 meeting, and the Board of Park Commissioners will hold a staff briefing and public hearing on the recommendations at its Dec. 14 meeting.
The Board will make its recommendation to the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation in early 2007, and the City Council may adopt the plan by resolution. The citywide skatepark plan will provide a long-term vision for skatepark facilities. Development of individual sites will depend on the availability of future funding, and, in cases of reservoirs and other properties not owned by Parks, on working with the owner and on the creation of a plan for each site.
A map of the proposed locations and the criteria for site selection are on the web at www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/skatepark.htm. For additional information, contact Parks Project Manager Susanne Friedman at 206-684-0902 or Susanne.friedman@seattle.gov.[[In-content Ad]]
