Concept Skate Park Designs By Design Cabinet

On Friday, August 12, we were hosted by the Loudoun Design Cabinet at the Government Center in Leesburg. The Cabinet was represented by nine individuals who were Architects, Urban Planners and Landscape Architects. The Purcellville Skate Project was represented by Juanita Tool, Russ Forno and Dave Levinson. Also in attendance was Paul McCray who represented the Town of Purcellville. The goal of the meeting was to communicate our vision for a skate park in Purcellville, and allow the Cabinet to create conceptual designs during the four hour meeting. Wow, did they ever!

We described what skaters expect in a park, our desire to serve the whole community and the vision to incorporate natural elements of the Blue Ridge into the design. Notes were taken as we took turns discussing this vision. Also discussed were issues relating to zoning, anticipated schedule and a rough budget. We expressed the desire to meet the needs of street skaters and ramp riders alike. Doing so would require the park to contain both plaza elements (boxes, stairs, rails etc.) combined with pools and/or transitioned surfaces that offer vertical aspects. In doing so, the needs of different skate types would be met.

The Cabinet asked about other types of people who would use the park. We answered by indicating roller skaters, BMX bikes and scooters. We explained our desire to meet the needs of everyone, although acknowledged that bike pegs can be detrimental to the park itself. It was noted that some parks allow bikes and others do not. Some require that pegs be removed from bikes should they want to ride. The issue at hand is that pegs can tear up park elements, something we're not excited about. While to early to make decisions on what would be allowed, the Cabinet gained a greater understanding of expectations.

During the discussion, we also described the different types of skate parks. We let the Cabinet know that there are generally two types of skate parks: modular and concrete (there are more, but we kept it simple). Described were costs involved with each approach, and expected durability and maintenance issues. In the end, we want a concrete park due to the longevity and maintenance free aspects. As skaters know, concrete parks offer great surface transitions and the smoothest ride possible.

Our group suggested that we want the entire community to benefit from the skate park in Purcellville. We envision families coming to watch the skaters. We'd like an area where young skaters (ages 4-6) could participate in their own cordoned off area that might contain small ramps and boxes. The Cabinet affectionately called them Skater Tots. It would be located next to a roof covered area with picnic tables. We expressed the desire for a flat area where bands could play for events. Also discussed were the benefits of having a food vendor on site where a portion of sales would offset ongoing costs. At this early stage, all elements should be considered before locking down a final design. This was the purpose of meeting with the skilled professionals representing the Design Cabinet.

After taking all of this discussion into account, the Cabinet split into three teams. The survey plans were taped to tables, and tracing paper taped on top. Then began a flurry of sketches and measurements while taking into account the lay of the land, or topology. Each of the three teams created elaborate designs based upon the discussions. The creative approaches were incredible to watch. Our group watched in amazement as our dreams of a skate park in Purcellville began to take shape on paper. We watched as the professionals used tracing paper as a canvas for our long held dream. The process was incredibly exiting.

Okay, so now you are wondering where these three concept designs are! Well, we decided to wait for the County to release their official report before showing the final concept designs. They will write the report and include high quality images of each, which we will share with you here. We also have video of each team describing their vision behind each concept. Stay tuned for all of this in the next few weeks. The Cabinet informed us that the drawings are to scale, which means we can use them to obtain rough quotes from building contractors. While these conceptual designs likely won't represent final designs, we can now obtain ball park quotes.

We'd like to express our gratitude to the Loudoun Design Cabinet for all of their hard work. It is volunteers like this who will make the project a reality. They selflessly gave the PVSP group a half day of their time to help move this project forward. The Purcellville community thanks them heartily.