Greg DeHart skates over a ramp at Riverside Skate Park as his friends look on in November 2014. The city of Centralia is planning improvements for the park.
After the Skateboard Foundation turned over control of the Riverside Rotary Skate Park to the city of Centralia, the Hub City has plans to help spruce up the recreation area by adding new features.
Emil Pierson, community development director for the city, said the park committee has designed plans for a new street course that will be housed in the 44,000 square-foot skate park off of Harrison Avenue. Construction could start as early as next week, he said.
The city has already fixed a number of ramps, and replaced parts, but the plan is to improve the park with additions.
The new street course will feature five or six new rails, as well as 16-inch high benches for grinding. A 10-by-10-foot planter box will be added for riders to utilize, as will structures equipped with rails.
Most of the items will be made out of concrete to ensure they remain for years to come, Pierson said.
The skateboard park has been part of Centralia since 2002 when the concrete slab was poured. The ramps were later constructed in 2004, and a concession stand was added in 2008.
The new street course was designed in 2015 by foundation members, and Pierson said expertise from experienced skaters was utilized. The project will be funded through the city’s parks department.
“Over the next year you will see a lot of things going up,” Pierson said. “As we save money in the parks department, we will apply it into the skateboard park and start hopefully fixing the older stuff, but also building newer stuff.”
Pierson thanked Sandy Short, and other skateboard foundation members, who were instrumental in starting the park.
