On a sunny June day next to the Dublin Justice Center, dozens of kids were finally enjoying something they had waited months for: their first chance to test out the new skate park.
The former skate park, which opened in 2000 on Coffman Park Drive between Post Road and Emerald Parkway, ran its natural life cycle and closed last August.
“It definitely was worth the wait,” says Angela Jernigan, a recent Dublin Jerome High School graduate who picked up skateboarding in 2015.
The 17-year-old says seeing the friendships and bonds skaters form with one another attracted her to the hobby.
“I like the way that people got close through skating. It seemed to be a lot of fun, so I wanted to get into it,” Jernigan says. “I met a lot of girls through it, too, which is really cool because I didn’t think there would be a lot of girls.”
Jernigan says she met many of her new skateboarding friends by checking out other parks across central Ohio.
“I had a hard time with the old park closing because we really enjoyed it,” she says. “But after the other park shut down, I had more of a chance to venture out into other parts of Columbus to skate and meet other people. Now they are coming here to skate, which is really awesome.”
Not Only For Dublin
Jernigan’s friends are just a handful of the skaters from other communities coming to Dublin to explore the new skate park.
Matthew Mello-Beard, 14, is a Plain City resident who says he first learned how to skateboard at the old skate park.
“I was there all the time,” he says. “But this one is a lot nicer. It’s just a better park all the way around.”
Mello-Beard says he plans to visit the park “at least every other day.”
“It’s just fun,” he says. “It gives you something to do and keeps you out of trouble.”
Grove City resident Tiberius Daniels also sees skateboarding as a positive, healthy hobby for kids. That’s why he takes his 10-year-old son, Casen, to skate parks as often as possible.
Daniels says he and his son are excited about making regular trips to Dublin’s new park.
“It’s great. It’s everything we thought it would be. Unlike a lot of other parks, it’s bigger.”
Community Input
Perhaps the major reason why the new skate park is getting such positive reviews is that the City of Dublin listened to local skaters during the design process. The skateboarding community had the opportunity to weigh in on the park design at two public input sessions held in 2014.
“We learned from the previous skate park design many things we could do better to make this skate park available for all abilities and skill levels,” says Matt Earman, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Dublin. “Using feedback from some of the local skateboarding enthusiasts ensured the success of delivering a quality recreational amenity for the community.”
The new skate park incorporates features for all ages, styles and experience levels for both skateboarding and inline skating. Spohn Ranch, an industry leader in skate park design and build, designed the park to be unique to the Dublin community.
“While the original skate park served the community well for many years, flawed design and awkward geometry limited its potential,” says Vincent Onel, a skate park designer for Spohn Ranch. “Like many early generation skate parks, the space also focused too heavily on transition-style terrain and offered scarce opportunities for street-style skateboarding.”
Onel says the input sessions with local skateboarders paved the way for a modern skate park design with well-balanced terrain.
“We were able to create a flowing above-grade transition section that leads into a thoughtfully spaced street section,” he says. “The 14,000-square-foot skate park also features a sculptural wave feature that goes over-vert and is guaranteed to become an iconic photo backdrop.”
While the new features in the park are sure to provide exciting challenges for skaters, City officials want everyone to make sure they skate safely.
“We encourage all users to be aware of their surroundings, to be cognizant of other skateboarders and to only skate within their abilities while using the park,” Earman says.
By staying safe, skaters will be able to fully enjoy a park that both Dublin residents and visitors agree is like none other in central Ohio.
Just ask someone who has visited her fair share of skate parks. Someone like Angela Jernigan.
“This one is definitely the best,” she says.
Josh Poland is a public information officer for the City of Dublin. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
