Seeking skatepark shapes

COEUR d'ALENE — More than 30 residents were at City Hall in Coeur d'Alene Thursday night to share their dreams for what a new skatepark in the city should look like.

The design meeting was hosted by the North Idaho Skatepark Association, a group created to serve as a liaison between Coeur d'Alene's extreme sport's community and city officials. Nathan "Ope" Baker, a member of the association's board, told The Press he was to help the staff at Grindline, a Washington-based skatepark builder which was hired through fundraising dollars, get a pulse of what local skaters want to see before creating preliminary designs.

"They're the best in the business," Baker said, adding they also build parks that cater to both skateboarders and BMXers. "We've hired them to create these designs so we have something solid to present to the community because we want a park that can serve all of the people of our community."

Micah Shapiro, Grindline's lead designer, was on hand at the meeting to begin what he called a collaborative process between Grindline and the skate and BMX community in Coeur d'Alene. Shaprio said Grindline, which was founded in 1990 and has created more than 200 skateparks around the world, was hired by the association to create a concept, which will then be shown alongside thorough cost estimates to people and businesses that could potentially donate funds, supplies, or services.

"We really want all of our designs custom-tailored to the community it's going to be in," Shapiro said. "We want to make sure we're good neighbors and that the park integrates well with everything around it."

Shapiro then walked attendees through Grindline's process, and showed them photos of the 15,000-square-foot piece of land in the Four Corners area that have been put aside for the future skatepark.

"There's a million different things you can do with a skatepark," Shapiro said. "I want to find the commonalities. Now, what are we going to do to make this skatepark say 'Coeur d'Alene?'"

After Shapiro asked the audience for their input on what features and elements should be incorporated into the new park, he was bombarded with ideas from supporters of all ages. Some in attendance advocated for a section of the park tailored to younger kids who want to get into extreme sports, while others suggested incorporating nods to Fort Sherman and the old BNSF railroad tracks where the new park will be located.

Although it will be some time before the skatepark comes before the city council for approval, Councilwoman Kiki Miller told The Press she attended Thursday's design meeting to hear about the project directly from the source. Miller added that her support for the project is second only to longtime, passionate promoter Councilman Woody McEvers, and that the individuals behind bringing a new skatepark to the Lake City are "really great guys."

"(The meeting) started my mind churning on all of the positives that can come from this," Miller said. "This is great visioning — they're inspired and have a passion for this. It's a great place to start and they're doing it the right way. I think there's a lot of places that would put support into the project when they see the professional approach that is being taken with it."

Baker said that he knows there is a lot of hard work ahead if the dreams discussed Thursday are ever going to become a reality. But, he added that the benefits of such a project can be exponential to the community as a whole.

"It's an effort to get kids off the couch. Anytime we do that, it's a win. And if we can create a beautiful space for the entire community, that's also a win," Baker said. "We want our skateboarding community to feel like they have a say and are invested in the greater community because that keeps great people in our community."