Woodbury skate park ramps up for makeover

• Skate park

Kanten Russell, of ASD, talks with skateboarders about new plans at the Ojibway Skate Park. Staff photo by Riham Feshir

Talk about it

Anxious skaters can’t wait until a new skate park is open and ready to see some tricks.

A few skateboarders attended a planning session at Woodbury City Hall Wednesday, March 7 to hear the new plans for an upgraded Ojibway Skate Park.

The city plans to invest $100,000 to redesign the park and give local enthusiasts some of the features they’ve been seeking elsewhere.

“Current skate park features have reached their lifetime,” said Recreation Specialist Reed Smidt, adding that many of the material is in need of replacement. “The goal is to have it ready for the summer.”

The city has partnered with Action Sports Design (ASD), a company that has designed numerous skate parks around the country from St. Cloud and Bemidji, Minn., to Denver, Colo., and Staten Island, N.Y.

“Obviously this isn’t going to be the biggest,” said Kanten Russell, of ASD. “But I think we have the ability to put some cool things there.”

A handful of skaters joined Russell and Smidt last week to see what the company has in store for Woodbury.

The biggest change will be replacing wooden ramps with concrete ramps to make them safer and more enjoyable for all ability levels.

Attendees of last week’s meeting were impressed by the tricks, ramps, rails and ledges as they watched a video featuring some of the skate parks ASD designed in other cities.

Skateboarders said the current park isn’t aesthetically attractive and often times doesn’t allow for the group to gather on a calm summer day to hang out and relax.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Evan Alexander said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a while now.”

He said he wants a “mellow” park, nothing too big or too small – a place for all levels to practice in a “nice, friendly environment.”

The designs propose a safer park with concrete ramps similar to the Oakdale park where some Woodbury residents often skate.

Tom Fjerstad takes his two boys there, as well as other parks around the state, because they’re safer, he said.

He wants “something more of a permanent structure” for his sons, so they don’t have to drive all over the state.

The group helped Russell come up with a preliminary layout for the park, while he kept in mind the budget so they didn’t go too overboard with fancy features.

“Sometimes simple is better,” Russell said.

Tags: area news, news, woodbury