SeaSk8 meeting #2: A TOTAL BLOODBATH…
…of amazing design skills and friendly collaborative discussion.
Unlike the internet squabble-fest that led up to it, the SeaSk8 design meeting #2 was civil, productive, and friendly.
Mark Van Der Zalm and Kyle Dion from NewLine presented three concept drawings for the new SeaSk8 park last night at Seattle Center. All three concepts were pretty different from each other, and definitely different from any skatepark anywhere near Seattle. Design #1 was more of a traditional street plaza design, design #2 had a mini ramp section and some ‘fang’ shaped bank sections in the center, and design #3 looked like a cross between a wave and a whirlpool.
Mark and Kyle walked around gathering input on the three designs from about 25 skaters. Most people seemed to gravitate toward design #1 and design #3. People liked the circular area in #3, but wanted more of the cascading ledge/stair features in #1. People also liked the fang elements in #2.
Bowl proponents were disappointed that there was no stand alone bowl in any of the designs, and felt like the decision had been made not to include a bowl from the very beginning. This had them wishing that they hadn’t been led to believe otherwise, because it felt like a waste of time. But overall, it seemed like people were generally impressed with the level of innovation in the three designs.
You can continue to provide your feedback to the design team at the web forum they set up specifically for this project.
No bowls hurts, and seeing that only #2 has a (mini) halfpipe makes it worse.
More trannies please (“turnaround features” don’t count)
I don’t think we can bitch about a lack of bowls here seeing as there are now three very different bowls in the Seattle area and only just now a streetish park available in Seattle proper. That being said, I vote for the swirly one (the third design)!
We sure as hell can bitch. What the hell? Why are there no bowls? I can’t skate stairs and rails and I’m too old to push around. I need tranny. I loved the old Seask8 because it had a great mix of street and tranny that accommodated user at all levels.
Additionally, just because there are great bowls elsewhere is not an excuse to build less of a park. That is like saying we already have parks with smooth pavement so gravel or dirt is ok for this one.
Both Ballard and LW are too far to go skate at lunch and definitely a pain in the ass to get to in afternoon traffic. Why are we forced to settle for less than the Seask8 of old.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for posting a comment.
You can also post your thoughts at the VDZ site linked in this post: http://www.vdz.ca/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=95&whichpage=1
There are 27 other sites in the Seattle City-Wide skatepark plan. If you don’t like how this one worked out, find a spot near where you live and start organizing the effort to get it built. That’s the best way to assure you’re going to have a say in what gets built there.