On Monday, August 26th, a homeless man was killed in the W-J Park. On Tuesday, August 27th, SES received this inquiry from a local news agency: I’m a reporter with KVAL news. I was hoping to set up an interview today regarding the skate park under the Washington-Jefferson street bridge. Tuesday, a homeless was stabbed and killed there in broad daylight. I’m wondering if this changes your plans, or if you plan to go on with this project. Elissa Harrington, KVAL News. Jon Faulkner responded on behalf of SES in an on-camera interview that afternoon. That same day, this written reply was submitted:
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Elissa,
I would be happy to respond to your questions.
In no way does this change the plans for the siting of the skatepark. In fact, on the night of the incident, just a few blocks away, the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space and Skaters for Eugene Skateparks hosted the first in a series of design workshop meetings with the recently chosen designer of the skatepark, world-renown Dreamland Skateparks. One of the participants at the meeting witnessed the crime on his way to the meeting and shared the sad news with us, but the meeting went on with the understanding that we were all envisioning a different future.
There are two choices for the Washington-Jefferson Park: 1) write it off, continue to neglect the area, and watch crime increase over time; or, 2) reclaim the space and replace negative use with positive use. This type of incident only further reinforces the need to provide a transformational centerpiece to the park that brings consistent, positive energy and users to the park. A world class, destination skatepark will bring this consistent, positive use and energy and will transform the entire neighborhood.
There are testimonials from across the nation and around the world about the positive impact building a skatepark can have on a neighborhood. Burnside skatepark in Portland is a perfect Oregon example of this transformation. The same type of activity that currently occurs in Washington-Jefferson Park occurred there before the skatepark was built. Redeveloping the park to bring a vibrant, busy, active, multi-age facility into the area will allow us to create a synergy of uses with family viewing areas, a renovated restroom, increased visibility from the street and direct vehicular access throughout the park. The enhancements will be combined with the community then rediscovering the existing basketball courts, stage, horseshoe pits, and walking paths and the dynamic of the area will completely change. With the skatepark being covered and lit, there will be very few occasions when the skatepark won’t be busy, if not packed, with locals and visitors. We believe the addition of the skatepark provides the perfect catalyst for the much needed revitalization of Washington-Jefferson Park.
I encourage you to take just a few minutes and read this page: http://www.skateeugene.org/myths-vs-reality.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions.
Best regards,
Bob Chandler
Skaters for Eugene Skateparks
