Skatepark expansion offers 'wheel' excitement

SANDPOINT — It's possible, Rory Whitney said, looking over at kids dipping into the bowl at the Concrete Lake, that one of them is a future Olympian.

Whitney, owner of the 7B Boardshop in downtown Sandpoint, was among several dozen people at the Sandpoint skatepark Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a long-hoped-for second phase.

"It's very fulfilling, seeing the excavators down here moving dirt and stuff like that," said Whitney, who was one of those kids dipping into the bowls at the skatepark's launch 19 years ago. "It makes me happy. It's been a long, hard-fought battle, and I think the kids in this town deserve the best park we can give them. What we're doing here makes me very happy."

Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony of the Concrete Lake Skatepark expansion marked the launch of a quick project that they expect to be finished by mid-August. Crews were already hard at work tearing out asphalt and mapping where the new features will go. 

While the second phase is an active construction zone, Planning Community Development Director Jason Welker said the city anticipates being able to keep the project's first phase open throughout."This skatepark is propably the most used and the coolest thing we have in our city parks," Welker said. "It's been an important project for the city to expand it for a long time, and we're super stoked to be doing that."

Turnaround on the project will be quick, city officials said, with work expected to be completed by mid-August.

"You guys are going to be riding this before you go back to school," Welker told the dozens of skaters and supporters who turned out for the groundbreaking.

The project was the impetus for other improvements at Travers Park. Maeve Nevins-Lavtar, the city's park planning and development manager, said former Parks & Recreation director Kim Woodruff set aside $95,000 to kickstart the project, with a total of $350,00 coming from the parks department's capital improvement fund.

The second phase is "for the kids," Maeve Nevins-Lavtar said, adding to the diversity and complexity of the features at the park. A third phase will add even more levels to the skatepark, targeting advanced riders, and additional features to give all riders a chance to have fun.

As part of the second phase, a series of bowls will be built, colored blue to represent the water that forms a key part of the region and integrate it into existing land patterns. The project's second and third phases factor in the evolving skills of riders, opening the space and offering something for everyone, she said.

The second phase will add roughly 7,000 square feet to the skatepark; the third phase will bring the park to between 18,000 and 20,000 square feet.

"Our kids really need a place to come; they need a community and a little more support," Nevins-Lavtar said. "This is a place to come and get that support. Skaters are a great example of an intergenerational or multiple generations offering mentorship and support. It's not just skating; it's a community."

Four years ago, Whitney founded the Bonner County Skatepark Association, an organization dedicated to the sport and working to expand skating opportunities in the region.

"Skating is good for the community," he added. "It gives kids another resource to get outside and enjoy where we live."

Whitney said the association was formed as the community's skaters realized the Concrete Lake, located at the south entrance to Travers Park, was in disarray and needed work. They approached the city, offering to spread the word and pledging support for the city's expansion plans, raising more than $50,000 since the group formed.

While some claim skaters are naught but troublemakers who flout the rules, skaters at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony said that's the furthest thing from reality. Skaters are hard-working, resilient people able to take the skills and lessons they learn from skating and apply them to everyday life, carving out success in any number of areas.

"It teaches you a really good work ethic," said Whitney. "With skateboarding, you're never going to be good at it right away. It takes years and years of practice, so you have to stick with it and keep working at it, and you're never going to master it. You're always learning and evolving and learning new things every time you do it. So it's very rewarding once you get on there and actually learn to stick with it."

Dreamland's Danyel and Mark Scott built the original park and said they are thrilled to have the opportunity to take part in the next phase of the Concrete Lake.

"We love it," Danyel Scott said. noting that many on their crew were part of that original crew, which built the first phase. Among them is their son, a recent college graduate who learned how to do a kickturn at the Sandpoint park.

"Now he's going to be putting his love and sweat into this park," she added.

Primarily a skateboard park, the expansion will open the park to every kind of rider, offering something — and fun — for everyone, she added.

"You see these little fellas starting that weren't even a twinkle when we built that first space," Scott said. "I think the more space you give them and the variety of obstacles and elements, it's just going to create more different styles of riders and different users."

BCSA board members have been working with Dreamland Skateparks on the park's second phase and the hoped-for third phase as well, Nevins-Lavtar said.

"These guys grew up here, and now they're adults raising money for their kids to be able to come here, and adults too," she added. "The beautiful part of all of this is that all the different types of users are welcome here."

Anyone can ride, from the very young to those who are older; girls can ride, boys can ride, and moms and dads can ride. Anyone with a skateboard — simple, fancy, or a rickety old board that has no frills — can ride. And, BCSA board members said, they come from every walk of life, from every age group, and every skill level. 

They learn early to follow "skater etiquette," follow park rules, treat all with respect, help one another, and have fun. Those lessons were readily apparent at Thursday's groundbreaking, as skaters could be seen waiting their turn to ride while others offered advice and encouragement to skaters of all ages and genders at the park to have fun.

Seeing the activity at the park, the variety of users, and the sheer joy of people having fun at their park makes her smile, Nevins-Lavtar said. 

"It's really good for a healthy community," she added.

At the park to ride with friends, Owen Miller said he loves coming to the skatepark with friends but said its popularity means that it can get crowded. 

"Me and all my friends, we like to come and skate, but when there's a lot of kids, it gets a lot harder," Miller said, saying he can't wait for the park's second phase to open. "I think we're all extremely excited because we're going to have new obstacles."

For information about how to donate to future expansion efforts, contact the Bonner County Skatepark Association online at bcskatepark.com or stop in at 7B Boardshop, 121 N. First Ave., Sandpoint.

    Area skaters, Bonner County Skatepark Association members, Sandpoint officials and crews from Dreamland Skateparks gathered for a groundbreaking of the the second phase of the Concrete Lake Skatepark, located at Travers Park in Sandpoint.