City of Eugene Parks Plan

For many years, local skateboarding advocates have been encouraging the Eugene Parks Department and city officials to make funding a large, covered, flagship skatepark a priority.  After a multi-year public input process, the Parks Department created a guiding plan for the parks system in Eugene.  Building a regional downtown skatepark was identified as a Level 1 (the highest level) priority.  Here is the relevant section from the 2006 final plan:  Parks Recreation Open Space Plan Excerpt.

Partial Funding Identified 

Of course, having it in the plan is only one step on the journey.  The next step was assuring that at least some public dollars could be allocated to building the park.  That assurance came in the spring of 2007 when 2008-2013 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was released:  click here for the relevant CIP Excerpt.  The CIP set aside a total of $292,000 of public money for the skatepark.

Siting

In the spring of 2008, the city conducted a public review process to consider 3 potential skatepark locations under the WJ Bridge.  In the fall of 2008, the city finalized the site location.  The site chosen was the center area between the existing basketball courts and the horseshoe area.  Click here for a short video clip showing the area.  Click here for a general layout of the site location.  The city plans to raise additional funds from other sources to pay for relocating bathroom facilities as well as creating a new play structure.

Next Steps

It’s time to raise some dough and make this park a reality!  With current construction prices averaging $30-40 per square foot, in order to build Phase 1 of a regional flagship skatepark, the total budget needs to be at least $500,000.  So, our goal is to raise at least $200,000 from private sources by December 31, 2009.  We also need to begin work with skatepark design/builders to brainstorm with local skaters and conceive some preliminary designs.

Important Eugene Parks Dept. Information and Links

Click here to see the latest developments on the Eugene Parks and Open Space website.
Click here to see the City’s Preliminary Site Analsysis.
Click here to see the large scale WJ Park Map and study area.
Click here to see the more detailed WJ Park study area.