Article Courtesy of Gazette.net
A hip living art scene with Wi-Fi Internet access, a tournament venue and more parking options are among suggestions from community members for a planned mega-skate park at Cosca Regional Park in Clinton.
The skate park’s planners invited residents to give their input on the facility Jan. 21 during a community meeting held at Clinton’s Stephen Decatur Community Center to present preliminary plans for the park.
Planners and architects with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission said the facility, which could open by spring 2011, is expected to cost $500,000 and is planned to be a “larger than normal” 18,000-square-foot park with up to three skate “bowls” and a picnic area.
During the meeting, residents and community members peppered M-NCPPC representatives with suggestions and questions about the park. Some residents said they wanted the park to be a revenue stream for the facility by charging entrance fees, hosting tournaments and selling skateboards. Others wanted to know if parking would be expanded at the park so nearby neighborhoods will not be overrun with traffic.
“The main concern is the parking situation,” said Anne Reynolds, president of the Boniwood Homeowners Association, a 740-home community that sits adjacent to the park. “Currently, Boniwood gets overrun with traffic [from the park].”
Shaymar Higgs, 22, of Clinton has been campaigning for the skate park since last year, when he and other young skaters petitioned state legislators to match a $250,000 grant the project received.
“I live next door [to the park], literally,” he said. “I don’t think there is anything that will impact the community more than a skate park.”
Jeff Newhouse, a landscape architect for the commission, said he is hoping the facility will be operational by spring 2011 to meet time constraints to use funding for the project. The project, he said, is moving faster than normal to meet grant fund deadlines that require the money to be used by 2011.
“The schedule is a little more aggressive than usual,” he said. “This is going to be a lesson in building things quickly.”
During the meeting, Higgs and other skaters complained that south county residents must travel to Waldorf, northern Virginia and Mount Rainer to access skate parks. Residents hope that the park will become a regional draw.
“The community is lacking activities geared toward what the youth is interested in today,” said Catherine Taggart-Ross of Clinton, who helped secure funding for the project and is also a candidate for the District 9 County Council seat.
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