New Location and Concept Art Unveiled for Purposed Reading Skatepark

Plans for the Reading Skatepark are steadily moving forward! The public gathered for the second planning meeting in May at Canal Street Pub and Restaurant. The meeting showcased the new concept art for the park along with details on the design.

Representative of Grindline, skatepark developer based in Seattle, WA, Micah Shapiro gave a small presentation before taking questions and comments from the audience.

- Advertisement -

A lot has changed since the first public design meeting in October of 2017. The first being the location of the skatepark. The original plan was to build the park on Riverfront Drive across from Penske. Due to a large amount of underground utility lines on the property, the Reading Skatepark Association made the decision to move the purposed park. The new location is a vacant lot on Canal Street near South 6th.

Concept art courtesy of the Reading Skatepark Association

The past 6 months the RSA and Grindline have reviewed hundreds of suggestions from the community. A few of the most popular items to be incorporated into the park will be railroad tracks, a tribute to Albert Boscov, and a Pagoda sunshade.

Shapiro presented the semi-final design, which includes 22,000 square feet of skateable space, bowls transitions, and an area for beginners. His goal is to design a destination park that will draw in people from neighboring city’s.

- Advertisement -
Concept art courtesy of the Reading Skatepark Association

Out of the total space available on the lot, only one side is being used for the skatepark. during the community meeting several ideas were brought up on how to utilize the rest of the space. A few of them included basketball courts, a parking lot and bringing back the Reading Bike Hub’s Pump Track.

“It seemed like everybody was happy with the design. We have some minor tweaks in general we’ll keep pushing forward.” – Shapiro said.

So, what’s the future look like? Although there isn’t another public design meeting planned, Shapiro says the public is encouraged to continue to submit ideas. The next step is formalizing the concept for the city and raising funds.

We followed up with JD Turner, President of the Reading Skatepark Association and owner of Holistic Skateshop in West Reading after the meeting to get his take on the development process. “It was a good turnout, there were a bunch of avid skateboarders from different generations in the audience tonight. The more people involved the more feedback we can give back to Grineline.”

- Advertisement -
Reading Magazine
Reading Magazine
Thanks for supporting an independent, locally owned publication. Be sure to tell your friends about us!
Reading
overcast clouds
53.2 ° F
55.4 °
49.6 °
46 %
2.8mph
93 %
Sun
53 °
Mon
45 °
Tue
58 °
Wed
58 °
Thu
39 °

Hot off the press

Suzy Rae Design, LLC: Crafting Imaginative Print & Web Solutions for Two Decades

Suzy Rae Design, LLC is proudly commemorating its 20th anniversary in 2024, marking two decades of inventive solutions and...

Hope Rescue Mission serves as beacon of hope for homeless and hungry

Since 1894, Hope Rescue Mission has been helping men in Berks County have a place to sleep, something to...

Jobany Bedoya: Entrepreneur, DJ and founder of Wednesday Diversity Mixers

It's evident that Jobany Bedoya, the founder of the Wednesday Diversity Mixers, is not just an entrepreneur but also...
11,759FansLike
2,307FollowersFollow
697SubscribersSubscribe

Reader Favorites