City October 22, 2012 9:23 AM

LaSalle Park Skate Plaza

LaSalle Park Skate Plaza
Evan Bussiere:

Last month a public meeting was held at the Belle Center where a few dozen skateboarders and bmx riders met with Bill Gurney from NewLine Skateparks, Inc. to discuss design aspects for the proposed skate plaza sited at the underutilized pipeyard area in LaSalle Park. The design brainstorm session provided NewLine key design ideas from the multi-aged group. Their input had a direct impact on the initial design renderings shown here.

Last week Bill was back for a follow-up public meeting at the Belle Center to present renderings for the phase one concept as well as to take further feedback. NewLine discovered, through the feedback it received at the initial meeting, that the Buffalo area skaters and riders were fairly split 50/50 between the desire for plaza style and transition style for the park. The first phase has a consolidated design that, in my own biased opinion, is a great effort to combine the two. The hybrid design looks oh-so-fun. Moon and Miami banks!

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Due to the $250,000 budget for the first phase, Bill stated that incorporating all of the ideas presented at the initial meeting was a challenge. One of the reasons NewLine was chosen was their ability and experience in creating quality skateparks for various budgets. Bill also presented NewLine's vision for a multi-phased skate park that would include a majority of the desired ideas over three separate phases; each with a different style. The hope is that the first phase will be heavily used and shown to be a successful investment so that funds can be allocated for the second phase (and eventually a third!).

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In terms of a timeline, any additional design feedback regarding phase one can be provided via email to lasalleskateplaza@hotmail.com until this Friday and we will forward on the feedback to NewLine and the City. Once all the feedback has been presented, design and construction documents are set to be completed by the end of fall and then construction bids will go out this winter. Click on all images to enlarge.

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Shovels in the ground in spring 2013... and here's to the future!

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As a skater myself, I like it. Hopefully they will be able to incorporate both expansions to help diversify the park's obstacles

Score: 8 ( 8 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Remember the days when everyone skated at Trackmaster?

Score: 1 ( 7 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

not really. I was a pipedreams, b3, xtreme wheelz, and street skater kinda guy

Score: 1 ( 5 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I personally think this is a blight and a mistake. Its sole purpose is the age range of skateboarders. Its not for people of all ages. Its not for tourists and visitors. It wont take long before the kids lose interest and the city stops maintaining it then its $250,000 to demolish it and build something else. This is a single point of use expense

It would be far better to put something like the 1901 PAN AM Fountains which could be used to market and brand out city to visitors. Positive branding through history and culture. This would be an investment. Another reason to know Buffalo as more than a city of snow and zebra pajama pants.

Score: -37 ( 59 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Same could be said about the 3 golf courses dominating the 3 best parks in the city. I don't really ever see that many people using them and don't see how they are anything other than a giant money pit. They are a complete waste and cater to a small minority of residents.

I'm considering running for major on the sole platform of getting rid of the courses and returning the parks to the people. Just mow the fields and put in a couple more sport fields.

Parks shouldn't be about tourists and visitors, they should be about the people that live in the city and how to make it more attractive to live there. Outside of Central Park in NYC, what city part really serves as a tourist destination?

replied to paulsobo
Score: 20 ( 28 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I cant agree with you more....Delaware Park is a shame to have a golf course in the middle and sides of it....Why doesnt someone at city hall do something about it....I can only hope for the day when I can walk thru the middle of the park, lay down and enjoy the day and not have to worry about Total complete golf hacks

replied to NorthBuf
Score: 9 ( 13 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I personally think this is a blight and a mistake. Its sole purpose is the age range of fountain lovers. Its not for residents or tax payers. It wont take long before nobody cares about fountains. A fountain is a single point of use expense.

You old Fuddy Duddy.

replied to paulsobo
Score: 19 ( 29 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

So because I'm 5'4 should we not have basketball courts? Should we not have football, soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts etc? I don't skate but I can tell you there is most definitely a demand for this based off my daily observations around the city. This is a positive project for the youth and younger adults.

There's a group of skateboarders at Hutch Tech nearly every day and they always seem to be respectful and add a nice youthful presence that keeps the drunks away from there. I'll be sad to see those kids leave there to go to a proper skatepark but happy that they will finally get the recognition they deserve for their sport.

replied to paulsobo
Score: 25 ( 27 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Great post brownteeth.

What a lot of people fail to grasp is the long term and city wide benefits of a skate park like this. Having a dedicated facility for people who skate to use allows law enforcement to crack down harder on folks who use public space.

replied to brownteeth
Score: 4 ( 6 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

What I don't get is how some people have this ideal that parks are only meant to be observed and not used. It's not a piece of priceless art, it's a purpose-built utilitarian space that is supposed to be used by people of all backgrounds for various recreational purposes.

We all want our population to grow and part of that is retaining and attracting young families to the city. This is a great ammenity for those young families to have nearby and the location is pretty central.

Paulsobo wants replica fountains? We have real fountains all over the city that no one goes to, how would adding a fountain do anything for the park? That guy is so out of whack I think he's sitting at home in his parents basement just thinking of terrible ideas to post here.

replied to longgone
Score: 9 ( 9 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I tend to agree. I love the idea of a skate park, but I question the location. I hope I am wrong and the park, at this location, turns out to be a great success.

replied to paulsobo
Score: 6 ( 10 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I couldn't disagree with you more. This will be a major attraction for skateboarders from all over WNY and Southern Ontario. It will be a safe, legal place for skateboarders of all ages to go. Imagine the diversified destination LaSalle is becoming. The newly renovated playground, the dog park and now this. When this opens I'd like to see The Warped Tour return.

replied to paulsobo
Score: 13 ( 15 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I don't like the location, but same as Nbuffguy hope it's a huge success and I'm wrong but it could have been incorporated better to allow casual people to observe skaters. There is also no place for spinoff business, a skateshop, concessions, clothes store etc. What use is all these visitors if they just skate and go?

I also think watching skaters could be more of an attraction but this park isn't something you often just pass by, compared to other possible locations, but maybe this will be help make Lasalle more useful. As it is it's just a local park not a destination park. As I mentioned before they really need to make the trail continue along the thruway/rail to come up behind this park as well as along the water.

replied to Eric
Score: 3 ( 5 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

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Score: -7 ( 17 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

paulsobo, kids, teenagers, and adults skateboard. Much like baseball has it's older generation of players enjoying Softball on the fields they once played t-ball on as children so can adults who learned to skateboard down a flat sidewalk as a little kid go out and shred the skate park. People who grew up in the 70's and 80's latched onto skateboarding as a sport(see the x-games). We are now adults who are working taxpaying citizens who still skate and more importantly we want our kids to enjoy a nice park that would get them excited to learn to skate and have the opportunity to do it in a place that is not on a street in the middle of a dangerous thoroughfare or in a business park not meant for skating in.

In Orange County, CA where I grew up we have a lot of public and private skate parks and my experience is that they are packed with kids and parents after school. A great after school activity that can be enjoyed for generations is not something to nay say.

You old Fuddy Duddy.

Put a fountain in your back yard if you're keen on the sound of bubbly water.

I love the parks in Buffalo and would welcome more beautification/restoration/addition of fountains/benches/walkways/gardens etc. but to suggest we shouldn't add a skatepark to a city that doesn't have one makes no sense. We do have fountains already... so yeah get in touch with 2012.

Score: 21 ( 23 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Ha, Fuddy Duddy.

replied to New2Buffalo
Score: 7 ( 9 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Having been 1 of 20 people at LaSalle park at 10:00 on a sunny July Saturday morning, any attraction for any group is seriously welcome and needed. It begs the question, "If a fountain sprays in LaSalle park and no one is there to experience it does make a difference? hmmmm...

Score: 14 ( 14 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Not a single penny should be spent on anything in LaSalle Park other than the roadways, until they have all been repaved. The section of the park road closest to the condos is the worst.


Embarrassing!

Score: -1 ( 13 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I like bad roads in parks, it keeps [deleted] from driving WAY too fast. Leave them in rough shape or put speed bumps (with cut outs for bikes) every 100 yards, take your pick

replied to Sabres1970
Score: 4 ( 6 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

SKATE OR DIE!!!!!!!!!

Score: 3 ( 5 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Look Im not saying dont have a skate park BUT NOT ON PRIME WATERFRONT LAND IN LASALLE PARK.

I agree with getting the golf courses out of the Olmsted Parks.

Buffalo is 60% empty...demolished. There is plenty of room for a multiple new golf coarses on the eastside between Kensington and Cazenovia.

We could go a long way toward getting a skate park, getting the golf courses out of the Olmsted Parks, replacing blight with new golf courses and parks on the eastside and adding historical features like 1901 Pan Am Fountains...if we put some thought into a long range plan.

Instead we are demolishing the eastside with no plan for replacement...putting a skate park in prime waterfront land and filling our historic parks with golf. Come on...this is stupid to say the least!

Score: -11 ( 21 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

i love all the trees!! im 34 and have skated all my life. Skate until I die. my son is 2 years old. hopefully if this gets built and completed he will be old enough to enjoy it. please keep the trees. I have skated over 50 parks in my life and i can name maybe 2 or 3 with this much shade. it makes no sense why the "spectator viewing berms" are the only area in the park with no shade. no one is going to use them if all the shade is all over other areas of the park. I love the idea. I love the concept. I don't really have a comment on the specific skate features to skate on because I'll skate anything. Ill skate a curb all day if it grinds good.

Score: 5 ( 5 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Moon Banks and Pump Bumps? Seriously?! They can afford a couple of those each, but not one mini-pipe? I love that they're finally building a skatepark, I really do, but it's not an impressive nor diverse enough concept. 10 year olds will enjoy rolling over the 3 foot tall features, yes, but teenagers and those older will be bored out of their minds after a half hour of skating this. Can't believe the Sunday guys allowed this concept to fly. Had my uncle's wake not been on the day of the planning session, I wouldn't be so blindsided by this.

For non-skaters: I aliken my dissapointment to the architecture of the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. Planned high rise turns to one story sprawl.

Sorry to complain. I was so excited when this was proposed. However, this isn't an appropriate park for a mid sized city...more like a small town of 25,000.

Score: -1 ( 5 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

Although a mini-ramp/pipe has a smaller footprint than other features it uses more concrete, in essence using up features. If they built a ramp or bowl it would have cut down considerably on the number of other features they could have built. As it was explained by NewLine at the first meeting.

So, should this project go well and get well used, more of an argument can be made for the additional Phases which can be more focused on transitions, or Plaza, or whop-dee-doos, of dweezle-bombs, etc...

I would really like to see some bowls because there are 0 around here accept for that thing behind the Tops.

replied to BuffaloByChoice
Score: 1 ( 1 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

I love the idea of a skate park in LaSalle Park, bu one missing element is access. Right now, the only way into LaSalle Park is the Porter Avenue bridge, a vehicular bridge that is not safe for bikes or pedestrians and it certainly isn't safe for skateboards. Access to LaSalle could be improved considerably by fixing the Hudson Street Pedestrian Bridge so that it is cleaner, safer, more visible, better lit, and easier to cross. It's the only pedestrian access to LaSalle Park on the West Side. The Hudson Street Pedestrian Bridge is underused, under-appreciated, and in truly disgusting shape at the moment, but what an incredible asset it could be for the Skate Park, the Splash Pad, the Swimming Pool and for runners and cyclists as well. Fix the bridge!

Score: 2 ( 2 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment

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