A proposed downtown skatepark will be under the spotlight tonight at a public workshop that hopes to explore community insight and involvement.
The location being considered is in Washington/Jefferson Park beneath Interstate-105 downtown. Having rebounded somewhat recently from its perception as a mecca for drug dealers and crime, the park already holds basketball courts, bike paths, a children’s play area and a performance stage.
Dubbed City Center Skatepark, the addition itself is described as covered and “regional-scale” by the City of Eugene. It would be the seventh skatepark in Eugene, but the first in the central, populous downtown neighborhood. Eugene has been a leader in skater recreation, with its first park, Amazon, completed in 1993.
On the agenda are the plans for the project, its timeline and how funds will be raised. This is the second workshop in a series that not only considers how to move forward with the project, but seeks volunteers and creative input as well.
Among those present will be SkateEugene, an organization that has set the ambitious goal of raising $200,000 of the necessary $450,000 to build the park by December. It has partnered with the city’s Parks and Open Spaces division on the project.
The workshop takes place tonight at the Campbell Center at 155 High St. from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
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