Evan Bussiere:
Last month a public meeting was held at the Belle Center where a few dozen skateboarders and bmx riders met with Bill Gurney from NewLine Skateparks, Inc. to discuss design aspects for the proposed skate plaza sited at the underutilized pipeyard area in LaSalle Park. The design brainstorm session provided NewLine key design ideas from the multi-aged group. Their input had a direct impact on the initial design renderings shown here.
Last week Bill was back for a follow-up public meeting at the Belle Center to present renderings for the phase one concept as well as to take further feedback. NewLine discovered, through the feedback it received at the initial meeting, that the Buffalo area skaters and riders were fairly split 50/50 between the desire for plaza style and transition style for the park. The first phase has a consolidated design that, in my own biased opinion, is a great effort to combine the two. The hybrid design looks oh-so-fun. Moon and Miami banks!
Due to the $250,000 budget for the first phase, Bill stated that incorporating all of the ideas presented at the initial meeting was a challenge. One of the reasons NewLine was chosen was their ability and experience in creating quality skateparks for various budgets. Bill also presented NewLine’s vision for a multi-phased skate park that would include a majority of the desired ideas over three separate phases; each with a different style. The hope is that the first phase will be heavily used and shown to be a successful investment so that funds can be allocated for the second phase (and eventually a third!).
In terms of a timeline, any additional design feedback regarding phase one can be provided via email to lasalleskateplaza@hotmail.com until this Friday and we will forward on the feedback to NewLine and the City. Once all the feedback has been presented, design and construction documents are set to be completed by the end of fall and then construction bids will go out this winter. Click on all images to enlarge.
Shovels in the ground in spring 2013… and here’s to the future!