The skate debate

As early as next spring, Logan Square will be home to Chicago's first covered skate park—a combination of ramps, rails and banks that will be built underneath the Kennedy Expressway overpass at Logan Boulevard.

Skaters welcome the addition of another skate park—it will be the city's third—but the design of the park was the subject of much debate at a November 2 meeting set up by the Chicago Park District.

The park district has approved construction of a "temporary modular" park consisting of an asphalt base and movable components (quoted at $100,000 to $150,000). But skaters say they'd rather see a permanent concrete park like Burnham Skate Park (just south of 31st Street and Lake Shore Drive) or Wilson Skatepark (Wilson Avenue and LSD). While skaters have not been totally satisfied with the design and size of these two, the general consensus is that the concrete at least offers a more solid, skatable surface. Park district officials say concrete parks are more expensive (Burnham and Wilson cost roughly $750,000 each) and that the Illinois Department of Transportation has concerns about how a permanent structure would affect highway maintenance. Even so, the city will consider a concrete park as a possible phase two of the project—funding for which could come from corporate sponsors, according to Chris Gent of CPD.

"There was a lag in bringing IDOT in because originally they weren't sure if it was something they wanted to do," Gent said. "But now there's conversation, so it's getting them to be more comfortable with the plan [by first doing a temporary space]. And if we see people using it, it'll drive funding of the next phase."

Throwing money into a subpar park isn't the best way to measure interest in a permanent facility, argues skater Steven Karl Metzer. "They want to spend almost $200,000 on a cookie-cutter park they say might only be up for a year. It sounds like such a waste of money. And if they base whether or not they're going to build a concrete park on the success of this one, it's not gonna get built."

Skaters are working with the park district to point out design flaws, but say their help wouldn't be necessary if skateboarder-owned-and-operated design companies had been brought in. "Burnham [Skate Park] was not built by people who skateboard—the transitions are off...it sucks," Metzer says.

Project heads say they will contact recommended companies like Plywood Benders and Team Pain.

Logan Square resident Mark Heller, who proposed the idea for the park in 2002, said, "IDOT is willing to be educated. Chicago is not reinventing the wheel. We have a mayor who wants a world-class city, and it is not...without a world-class covered skatepark."

The park, which will take four to six months to complete, is part of Logan Gateway, a project designed to bring additional open and recreational space to the area. The project also will include landscaping of a lot on the south side of the boulevard.—Leah Pietrusiak

Additional meetings will be scheduled for later this month. For updates, visit www.loganskatepark.org.