Workshop First Step Toward Design of A2 Skatepark

About 60 people, the great majority of them skaters and young people, came to Slauson Middle School on October 18th to give their input on what they’d like to see in the Ann Arbor Skatepark. We had a good representation from our City and County governments as well. Ann Arbor City Council members Mike Anglin, Carsten Hohnke and (soon to be councilmember) Steve Kunselman attended, as did Washtenaw County commissioner Conan Smith. Landscape architects Amy Kuraz and Jeff Dehring from the City and County, respectively, were on hand to find out more about the project, and give their input. Connie Brown came as a representative of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission, and Jennie Hale, program officer from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (where our funds are administered) also contributed to the workshop.

Click here for pictures of the event: http://tinyurl.com/designworkshop

Wally Hollyday of Wally Hollyday Design came to find out what the people of Washtenaw County want the Skatepark to be like.

Mr. Hollyday started the event with a brief presentation about how his parks incorporate creative thinking about everything from environmental impact to public art. He's particularly interested in skateparks as nuclei of communities. He thinks of his parks not just as (eminently) skateable surfaces, but as gathering places for people of all kinds: he has built parks (e.g., Nashville) that ring green spaces where families can picnic while their children skate, and others (North Las Vegas) with built-in amphitheater spaces that can be skated or used for public concerts and performances, etc.

After his presentation, Mr. Hollyday handed out sheets with basic skatepark designs on them and asked each person to mark the features and ideas that mattered most to them. He then spent the next hour peeking over people's shoulders, checking out their work and engaging them in conversation about their ideas. He made sure to speak to nearly every participant at the workshop.

At the end of the event, Mr. Hollyday collected the sketches, which he'll use to generate a preliminary design.

This is a huge step for the skatepark. Things are really getting exciting. Keep in mind though that your contributions are what is going to make this project a reality. As we continue our fundraising, we ask that you dig deep for anything you can donate to the effort, and please spread the word to anyone and everyone you may think may be interested in helping this dream become a reality.

To make a gift to the Ann Arbor Skatepark Fund at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, send a check made out to AAACF with “Skatepark” in the memo line to 301 N. Main Street, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or visit http://www.aaacf.org