The Steel Bridge Skatepark will come to Portland's Old Town neighborhood after years of discussion. The park will be located on the west side of the Willamette River.
Courtesy of DAO Architecture
After decades of planning and discussion, a new skate park will finally be coming to Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.
Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan recently announced that $15 million will be spent to build the Steel Bridge Skatepark. The 35,000-square-foot skate park will be fully funded through fees the city assesses on new development.
Jessie Burke is the chair of the Old Town Community Association and the owner of The Society Hotel and is running for a seat on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. She hopes the new skatepark will play a role in transforming the area.
“I hope that people feel like there is a public space or a public realm that is safe to enjoy all the time,” Burke said. “I think that we’re struggling right now in Portland feeling like there are fewer and fewer spaces that people feel are public.”
The idea to build a skatepark in Old Town began nearly 25 years ago. Howard Weiner, owner of Cal Skate Skateboards, helped lead those early efforts. He worked with community leaders to get city funds to conduct a feasibility study in 2001.
In 2008, Weiner worked with Portland Parks and Recreation to create the Skatepark Systems Plan which would become the blueprint for the Steel Bridge Skatepark.
But as city funds dried up, Weiner gave up hope that the project would ever come to life. “In the last 10 to 15 years, I thought we had given it our best opportunity and the only issue was money, funding.” Weiner said. “Until not too many weeks ago, I did not think this was going to happen.”
While Weiner thought his efforts were lost, Burke came across the plans and brought them forward during a meeting of local businesses and city officials a few years ago. The Steel Bridge Skate Coalition soon came on board to become a major advocate for the project.
Weiner says that the relationship between the city and skaters hasn’t always been cordial. He says in the 1970s, the city made riding a skateboard downtown an illegal offense that carried a fine up to $100. He welcomed the change in attitude towards skateboarding by the public and elected officials.
“Skaters were looked at by politicians and the public as a nuisance,” he said. “Those perceptions have changed. I’m on my fourth generation of customers. It’s a … much more positive, accepting world for skateboarders.”
Jessie Burke and Howard Stein joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” to discuss the new skatepark. You can listen to the full conversation here: