An early jump on fun

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Skateboarders and bicyclists have been "dropping" into the concrete bowl at Marietta's new Indian Acres skate park since work on the main facility was completed last month.

But there's still more to be done before an official grand opening can be scheduled.

"Hydro-seeding has to be done soon to help prevent erosion, as the weather is growing cold," said Wayne Rinehart, the city engineering department's project manager for the skate park.

He said a temporary gravel pathway will also be installed to provide access to the facility until a permanent sidewalk and street course can be constructed between the skate park and parking lot next spring.

That's not stopping skaters and bikers from enjoying the new facility.

"We're not telling them they can't be there, although most cities do not allow bicycles in their skate parks because the bicycle pegs can chip the steel pipe coping around the edge of the bowl," Rinehart said, adding that regulations governing use of the facility are being developed and have not yet been posted.

Mayor Michael Mullen said there will likely be some restrictions placed on the use of bicycles on the course.

"We want to keep the bikers from practices that could damage the skate park, and both skaters and bikers will have to respect and accommodate one another," he said.

There had been talk earlier this year of developing a course of ramps, half-pipes, and other facilities specifically for bicycle use, "but at this point we don't have a plan for the bikers," Mullen said. "The skaters and bikers will have to share the skate park until we can decide whether we're going to consider plans for a bicycle course."

Mullen said $20,000 was set aside from the city's annual Community Development Block Grant budget to help leverage other grant funding for the skate park.

"By using grants and city crews to provide much of the labor, we essentially turned $20,000 into a $150,000 to $200,000 skate park," he said.

The skate park project also benefited from fundraisers by the local Skaters United group as well as from a $70,000 healthy communities grant through the Washington County Health Department.

Member Comments

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Indian
11-06-09 9:28 PM »Report Abuse	A+ for Marietta. Good job.
Indian
11-06-09 9:28 PM »Report Abuse	Suncatchin should be someone with a better attitude. Talking about the kids having a good time is great. Other insulting remarks were uncalled for.
SilenceDogood
11-06-09 3:45 PM »Report Abuse	Ride safe, have fun and respect the facilities that are provided for your entertainment.
mcphilosopher
11-06-09 1:34 PM »Report Abuse	This is definitely a feather in Marietta's cap. Its already a beautiful facility, and will only get better as the second and third phases of the project take shape. The young men who have fought so hard for this park definitely deserve a tip of the hat not only for their work towards the park, but for giving Marietta this unique gift as well. Ride your hearts out, kids.
armybrat
11-06-09 1:25 PM »Report Abuse	I didn't even know it was completed. Hope the kids have fun with it.
Teacher
11-06-09 11:44 AM »Report Abuse	ohh.....passive aggressive remarks! How fun! Do tell!
Suncatchin
11-06-09 11:36 AM »Report Abuse	one good mark for city of marietta.. those kids need something like that. i have seen them in all seasons including winter out there.. now marietta just needs to clean up the crappy police force! rude, not helpful, barney fife..
GOTOSCHOOL
11-06-09 9:32 AM »Report Abuse	You're only a kid once- I'm for fun...hope they appreciate and respect.

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