PARIS – Local skateboarders and bicyclists may soon have a hassle-free place to set their wheels to pavement now that work has begun on a new skate park.
Ground has been broken for the park, and a fence put up around the site off Charles Street, behind Hancock Lumber.
On Tuesday, Skateboard Park Planning Committee member John Parsons said Norway, Paris and Waterford have contributed time and equipment to complete the initial site clearing.
“We made the decision to get started even though there are still some fund-raising pieces up in the air,” he said. “It’s kind of a leap of faith, but after two or three years of stops and starts and so on, we need to get it going.”
While the initial park designs called for three distinct areas, with a “street” area containing steps and rails for tricks, and two “bowls” that resemble swimming pool basins with rounded sides to provide skating surfaces, only two-thirds of the park will be built now.
A lack of funds has stopped the park committee from moving forward with plans for the deeper bowl, which is being referred to as the “peanut bowl” because its shape resembles that nut.
The skate park, which was designed by a West Coast company called California Skateparks, would cost about $177,000 if built outright. Park committee members have been seeking donations of equipment and labor to help defray that cost.
The skate park committee has about $84,000 on hand after spending some money on the site work, Parsons said. It has applied for at least two grants in recent months, and also has received some in-kind donations from area individuals and businesses.
He said Tuesday that about $25,000 more is needed to complete the first phase of the park. If all goes well, concrete will be poured and shaped by early October. That way, after the concrete sets for a month, the park should be ready for skaters and bikers by early November.
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