According to MyBallard.com and the Seattle Parks Website, there will be a new skatespot up North by the Fall of 2011.

This comes at a time when Delridge is taking for-freakin’-ever and Maple Leaf skaters got straight up jacked.  I guess you can’t win ‘em all.

But I tell you what, Seattle Parks project manager Kim Baldwin sure knows how to get it done.  This one was presumed to have been DOA.  With Lower Woodland, Jefferson, and now Crown Hill under her belt, she’s looking to take the title from the reigning SPD skatepark champion, Kelly Davidson (Dahl, Delridge, and the Capitol Hill skatedot).

As usual, don’t celebrate until the ‘crete is dry, but this is a great little amendment to the system up in the NW corner of our soon-to-be-skateable city.

Watch here for the meeting notices and get your ass out there. These projects have a way of going South unless there’s a solid base of support behind them.  You never know when those crafty lawn bowlers are going to sneak up and snatch your turf.

As Scott reported over on his Parents4Skateparks site over the weekend:  after showing a skatepark in all three preferred conceptual designs throughout the process, Seattle Parks has pulled the plug on the Maple Leaf skatepark funding stating that, OOPS!, the location that was being looked at is under the jurisdiction of Seattle Public Utilities and they just found that out.  But if the skaters can come up with $120,000 to build a much smaller park on a different, less appealing part of the site, then they’re allowed to try.  Wow!

The Maple Leaf site was designated by the citywide skatepark plan as a future skatepark, and there is $5 Million dollars in the budget for re-designing the entire park.  Which makes this whole $120K grain of sand feel a little bit like politics as usual.

By all accounts, the Maple Leaf meetings felt a lot like past North Seattle skatepark meetings.  A bunch of misinformed, fearful NIMBY rhetoric about the evils of skateboarding, and people advocating for tons of competing uses that take up way more space, aren’t popular with teens, and require facilities that cost more to build and maintain that skateparks.  However, there were substantial numbers of skatepark supporters in the meetings as well, and those people are now feeling burnt by the process.  Sound familiar to anyone?

What’s even more alarming is this trend of Seattle Parks “discovering” things late in the process that screw the skaters, delay the projects, and in this case…apparently take the skatepark out of the budget.  (Which still makes no sense.  Is the issue the siting or the budget?!)  At Delridge, incorrect information regarding the water table and drainage has had that project in limbo for a year.  At Jefferson, between meetings 1 & 2, Seattle Parks discovered that a utility line dissected the site making one of the most popular proposed features, a snake run, completely impossible.  By that point the site had already been designated so the whole design was affected, because no sub-grade elements could be placed in over half the park’s footprint.

This is all happening in an environment where an incredible project overhead gets paid to city staffers, for among other things, multiple cycles of review process that is supposed to catch this stuff early and often.  If it’s not, then what are we paying for?  One thing I know is how we’re paying for it.  The city is also hiring big engineering firms to manage these projects, and Maple Leaf is being run by the same people that missed the Jefferson issue.  Coincidence, reality of doing business, or just inept laziness?

Regardless of the root cause (*cough* politics *cough*), it looks like the Maple Leaf skatespot will remain mythical unless something drastically changes.  But the precipitation appreciation advocates shouldn’t worry…I’m pretty sure that Parks knows who’s jurisdiction the “rain garden” is in.  (Whatever the hell that is…)

If you’re concerned and want to voice your opinion, email these people and tell them your butt hurts.

Ironically, the coolest skatepark opening poster I’ve seen Seattle Parks send out looks like it was done with a Sharpie by someone who needs a ruler.

The New Line / Hardcore Shotcrete (ARC) park has been open for a while now, but Parks is christening our newest  skatespot with some free food, lessons, and helmet fitting for the kiddies.  Thanks to SnoCon and SLAG for once again picking up the slack and making events like this actually happen.

The details:  June 24th, 4pm-6pm @ 7700 25th Ave NE.

I don’t think anyone expects this to be Seattle’s next big thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to get skated.  These photos come courtesy of Seattle Parks Department, and don’t really show a lot of the stuff you want to see, but I’m sure there will be some more very soon.  Please send them in if you get some, and I’ll try to get some myself next week.  And before you freak out, the ledges at the bottom of the stairs are at the edge of the park, and are meant to control traffic and rogue board action.

Scott posted up some pictures of the first pour at Dahl playfield over at SPS.

It’s a small beginner-level park, and mostly street, which is exactly what this neighborhood needs.   Hopefully the relatively unknown contractor doesn’t blow it.

According to advocates on the ground, Seattle Parks recently received a public disclosure request from someone in the community along with other NIMBY-type complaints, including the classic “older skaters have hijacked this process in order to build what they want at the expense of what the children need” and “the skatepark footprint encroaches on the surrounding park space”.  At this time, Parks staff have not given the SPAC any inkling of how they intend to respond, but we’ve been here before and it was ugly.

There will be a meeting on Wed July 1st 6:30-7:30 at Dahl Playfield to share the final design of the skatespot that will begin construction this summer.  My guess is that these last-minute opponents will be trying to hijack the meeting with their pointless arguments.

Let’s not forget that this kind of thing stalled Lower Woodland for a year, drained $80K from the park’s budget, and eventually got the park pushed back against the hill where we told them not to put it for various good reasons.  We can’t let this happen again.

Show up to this meeting and help Seattle Parks help you.

Add another fallen skate spot to Seattle’s long list of demolished and skatestopped sites.

R.I.P. Kate’s Clamshell

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It looks like Seattle’s only actual skatedot may be litigated out of existence by the Seattle city government.

All SPAC attempts to bring SDOT and Parks officials to the table to discuss preserving Kate Martin’s skatedot have apparently failed.  The last message we received from Seattle Parks was simply a single line in an email: “Sorry, we cannot help you.”

An email I got from Kate earlier this week indicated she was feeling pretty defeated, and was even stepping down from her various positions of community involvement because she felt like this was retribution for her efforts to keep various city offices on task.

As you can see from the photo, the bank in question keeps the kids from flying into the street.  Yeah…let’s take that out.

Not unlike the original Ballard Bowl, Seattle is mandating the destruction of something they have not yet themselves been able to build.  Even though the Citywide Skatepark Plan designates “skatedots” as single features integrated into the city, and despite the fact that the City Council has designated fund for the creation of skatedots, Seattle Parks has yet to build a single one.

A lot of great things are happening in Seattle, but this is a harsh reminder that there is a lot of work to still be done.

As reported over on the Slog, well-known “skate mom” Kate Martin is being sued by the city for her DIY solution to the total lack of skateparks in Seattle.  For a while there, her front yard was the only skatepark Seattle had besides Ballard.  Her front yard skatopia is pretty hardcore already, but the clamshell they want her to take out was the only thing that kept me from totally killing myself by flying out into the street after hitting the largest transition in the layout.

It goes without saying that Kate’s dedication to skateboarding in Seattle has been steadfast and unflinching, and she has never been afraid to call it as she sees it, especially when it comes to the City dropping the ball.  The fact that her neighbors have basketball hoops cemented into their planting strips makes this a bit scary.  If it feels like retribution, smells like revenge, and tastes like Rick Sheridan’s unwillingness to comment on the situation, it probably sucks.

The SPAC is trying to get this space classified as a skate dot, but since it’s not technically Parks property, it could be difficult.

Direct your correspondence to:

richard.sheridan@seattle.gov

The skatespot for Dahl playfield has gone out to bid, and bids are being accepted until June 10th, 2009.

The New Line design is pretty killer, especially compared to the old concept by Skateparkitecture that was paid for with money that the community raised themselves.  Check out the contrast below.

Check out all of the New Line renderings here, and Northeast Seattle skaters should get ready to skate by Fall.

Design pre-Canadian intervention.

New Line's design.