Fosters.com is reporting that the Skateboard Park in Dover is almost ready!!If your kids are Skateboarding fanatics, this park looks AWESOME!!!
Check it out!!
By Casey Conley
cconley@fosters.com
cconley@fosters.com
Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 8:36 PM
Updated Apr 30, 2015 at 11:40 PM
DOVER — The wooden half pipe under construction since last fall at the Dover Skate Park isn’t yet finished, but it’s already getting rave reviews.
“This is top notch, whoever built it,” said Dan Gazzola, 21, who was riding his BMX-style bike in the finished portion of the half-pipe Thursday evening with Tyler Llerena, 22.
The two friends from Kingston, Mass., are in town this week on a painting job and decided to give the half pipe a try. They liked it enough to come back Thursday for a second straight day.
That’s the type of response the half-pipe’s designers were hoping for. James Boos, Steve Stripto and Chris Trembley began building the element last August. They worked nights and weekends and even kept at it between last winter’s snowstorms. Now, they’re ready to see the pipe in action.
“We are anxious to get it done and I think it’s going to be a huge asset to the community,” Boos said Thursday.
Heck, he’s looking forward to giving it a try. “I can’t wait. It’s one of the motivations for getting it done,” Boos said.
The half pipe emerged from a committee that included Boos, Stripto, Trembley and Matty Johnson about the future of the roughly 20-year-old skate park. As the $65 million Dover Landing development project gained momentum in recent years, there were discussions about moving the park.
Those discussions changed last summer when the development planned for the Cocheco River waterfront fell through. The committee decided to build a half-pipe that could be disassembled, moved, and put together again in case the park one day gets a new home.
The city received $40,000 in fees from the Dover Landing developer to extend certain deadlines, and half was set aside for half pipe construction. Although the city bought the materials, Stripto and the others built the element at no charge.
Dover Recreation Director Gary Bannon said the last of the materials will arrive shortly, allowing the builders to finish the project after months of hard work. Much of the element is complete, although about half of the ramps need a final layer of wood.
“It’s great to get it done now. The group has done a great job and they are all dedicated, hard working volunteers,” Bannon said.
While half pipes aren’t all that uncommon in New England, Boos said this one is different due to its wood composition. Within the last decade, he said more skate parks were built using poured cement for the jumps. The half pipe’s V-notch design on one side is also unique.
“It’s not a standard thing,” Boos said. “It’s actually something we sort of designed. One of the things we set out to achieve was some kind of feature that would sort of set it apart from a standard mini-ramp, half-pipe setup.”
A grand opening event and competition is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at the skate park. Details of the event are still coming together, Boos said.
“This is pretty much exactly what we had in mind. It came together really well,” he said. “We are super pleased with it.”
See this Article on www.Fosters.com
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