Public reaction to Medina Skate Park design: ‘amazing’
Design by Spohn Ranch Skateparks: The new skate park in Medina will have many elements for skaters, from the beginning level to intermediate and more advanced skill levels.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Jeremy Bradenburg, left, and two of his skateboarding friends look over the design of a new skate park in medina during an open house on Saturday at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.
MEDINA – The Medina Skate Society presented the designs for a new skate park to the community on Saturday during an open house at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
Construction on the new skate park is expected to start in the spring and be complete in the summer.
The Skate Society has secured a matching grant to upgrade the park with up to $250,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Medina has $230,000 raised so far and has until Nov. 30, 2020 to see if it can fully maximize the grant.
The Tony Hawk Foundation, now known as the Skate Park Project, also has approved $50,000 towards the project.
The Medina Skate Society has approved the $550,000 design and build proposal from Spohn Ranch Skateparks in Los Angeles, California. The new skate park will replace one at Butts Park. It will be at the same location.
Vincent Onel, VP of Skatepark Development at Spohn Ranch, designed the Medina skate park and discussed the project through video conferencing on Saturday at Lee-Whedon.
The park includes areas and features for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
Some of the features include:
- 2.5-foot to 4-foot quarter pipes lining the southern edge of the park.
- A 2.5-foot mini-ramp/beginner bowl section that waterfalls down to a 4-foot section along the north eastern edge.
- A fun box with a hip and an inventive street sized curb (for doing slappys).
- There are hubbas (grind ledges) and grind rails for beginner, intermediate and advanced skaters and riders.
- The intermediate kidney shaped bowl begins at 5 feet and waterfalls down to 7 feet.
- When entering the park from the walkway stretching from the main parking lot past the pavilion/seating area, there is 9-inch manual pad with a 20-inch ledge that will also bare the name of The Luke Nelson Skate Park, said Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society.
- The most prominent feature facing south Main Street is a functional art installation (steep slant) standing approximately 9 feet tall and 24 feet wide, Feig said. “This is where our sponsors will be displayed so it’s the first thing visitors see when they pull into the Butts Park.”
The skate park will be named for Luke Nelson, whose family has helped with many fundraisers and provided an inspiration on the project.
The park will be named for Luke Nelson, a skateboarder from Middleport who often used the park. He was 23 when he passed away on April 22, 2017. His family has donated to the park and helped organize the fundraisers to upgrade the site.
Jeremy Brandenburg, 26, of Medina was among the community members who attended the open house. He said the new park will be a big attraction for skaters.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Brandenburg said. “It’s definitely got a little bit of everything.”
Village Trustee Owen Toale thanked Feig and the Skate Society for doing the fundraising, securing the grants and pushing the project forward.
Toale was pleased to see one of the features mimics the Canal Culvert. Feig suggested that and Onel included it into the design.
“It’s obviously an iconic structure in the area,” Toale said about the Canal Culvert. “To incorporate it is brilliant.”
Chris Goyette discusses the Medina Skate Park with Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, which has spearheaded the $550,000 project.
The new public concrete skate park will have a smooth surface and new equipment for skaters, bikers, scooters and in-line skaters. The park will also be an architectural work of art, Feig said.
For more information on the Skate Park and the Medina Skate Society, click here. Donations can be made directly to the Medina Skate Society. Larger tax-deductible donations should be made out to the Orleans Renaissance Group Inc. PO Box 543 Medina, New York 14103 specifying in the subject line “Skate Park Project.”
