Downtown skate park is now open
Grateful skaters already enjoying area they helped design in downtown Texarkana
Open only since Tuesday, Texarkana, Texas’ new skate park already has a reputation as one of the best in the region.
“It’s definitely the nicest park within a 200-mile radius,” said Michael Robertson, one of about a dozen skaters trying it out on Wednesday. Adrian Ellis agreed. “It’s going to bring people from all over,” including a group from Shreveport, La., expected Wednesday afternoon, he said. Social media chatter, including on the Texarkana Skate Alliance page on Facebook, is spreading the news about the park, built at West Third and Elm streets beginning in July.
People from Arkadelphia and Hot Springs, Ark., and Longview, Tyler and Dallas, Texas, have called the Texas-side Parks and Recreation Department to ask about visiting the park, Director Robby Robertson said.
“Everyone we’ve talked to really likes it, likes the design,” he said.
Skaters praised the park’s “flow” and ability to accommodate various skill levels and unlimited tricks. None could name a flaw in its design or construction.
“You don’t have to push in this park, and
there’s a little something for everybody,” Cody Brown said.
Designed and built by American Ramp Co. of Joplin, Mo., the park cost more than $240,000, to be paid with federal Community Development Block Grant funds.
Local skaters played a big role in designing the park, meeting with American Ramp several times during the project’s planning phase to offer suggestions.
Parks and Recreation plans to hold a grand opening once some final touches, like fencing and sidewalks, are completed. But because local skaters have been eager to use it—some even giving it a try without permission in recent days—the city opened the park to the public as soon as possible. Word went out on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve been waiting for this a long, long time,” Brown said. He and other skaters expressed their appreciation for the park and said they would take responsibility for caring for it and policing each other’s behavior.
“The city didn’t have to make this, so we have to show we can take care of it,” Ellis said. The unspoken rules of skater etiquette include respecting each other and keeping parks clean, he said.
A spirit of goodwill and camaraderie was apparent Wednesday among the skaters, who greeted new arrivals warmly and applauded each other’s successful tricks. Brown had even brought a case of bottled water, and Ellis two large containers of Gatorade, to share.
Ellis said he sees the park as a way to bring people together, an opportunity that has not always been available to Texarkana’s skaters.
“I remember skating on the streets was a hassle because of the cops, but now they’re coming and hanging out with us here,” he said. “It’s going to be good for the community, no doubt.”