Lake Nokomis may become home to skatepark designed by skaters

City of Skate volunteers Bill Welk, Witt Siasoco, and Calvin Hafermann pushing for better skateboard parks in Minneapolis

by Tesha M. Christensen

Bill Welk started skateboarding 18 years ago on a cheap toy skateboard that snapped in half within a week. Today the Ericcson neighborhood resident continues to skate because “it’s a great release or escape from life.”

Welk added, “I can go skateboarding on my schedule and do not have to rely on anyone. While I enjoy the lack of organization or reliance on others, it can also be a great activity to do while socializing with friends that skateboard.”

Minneapolis resident Witt Siasoco is pushing 40 and has been skating for 25 years. “When I was a kid, I played lots of sports (baseball, basketball, football), but I loved skateboarding because it didn’t depend on a coach, teammates, or a game. I could pick it up and do it whenever and where ever,” Siasoco noted.

He likes to skate downtown Minneapolis. “But as an older skater, it becomes a bit of a odd situation when a police officer or security guard kicks you out of a spot,” Siasoco admitted. “So in my older age, I have retreated to public skateparks and the handful of private indoor skateparks in the area.”

At 17, Calvin Hafermann of Minneapolis has been skating for almost half his life.

There are two things he loves most about skateboarding. “One, it is a creative outlet unlike anything else,” said Hafermann. “To me, it is an interaction between architecture/one’s environment and oneself.  No one sees things the exact same way, and the possibilities are really endless. 

“Two, there is an amazing sense of community in skateboarding, particularly here in Minneapolis.  I have met most of my closest friends through skating, and people are really supportive of each other even if they do not know each other super well.”

They volunteer at City of Skate

Welk, Siasoco and Hafermann are three of the 13 volunteers who make up the non-profit organization City of Skate, a group pushing for better skate parks in Minneapolis.

According to Welk, the primary goal of City of Skate is to have high quality skateparks built in Minneapolis that are built and designed by skateboarders.

“There are a few skateparks in the area, but they are sub-par because they were built and constructed by non-skaters,” observed Siasoco. “At the time the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB) viewed skateparks as playground equipment. In order to build a quality skatepark that has high usage, the builder has to approach the construction in a site specific/landscape architecture way - similar to the way a golf course is designed.”

Minneapolis has an incredible skate scene with a real sense of community, and Hafermann thinks they deserve better than what they have gotten in terms of skateparks and recognition.

“City of Skate gives skaters a voice where it matters,” said Haferman. “City of Skate has held community meetings where local skaters can come in and voice their opinions and work towards something they would actually use.” 

Hafferman added, “City of Skate is also working towards raising funds for skateparks, and awareness for skateboarding beyond the skate community.”

Currently, City of Skate is working with the MPRB to create a city-wide Skate Park Activity Plan.

“I want to see a high quality public skatepark built in the Twin Cities,” said Siasoco. ”Towns and cities that have less skaters per capita have way better parks than Minneapolis and City of Skate wants to see this change.”

Skate park planned at Lake Nokomis

One of the locations City of Skate is eying up for a skateboard park is Lake Nokomis.

A skateboard park is being including in the Lake Nokomis/Hiawatha Regional Park plan being developed. Funds have not yet been set aside for the construction of the skateboard park.

City of Skate members are excited about this proposal.

Welk pointed out that the skatepark will benefit the neighborhood by allowing a safe place for residents of all ages to participate in wheeled activities, and the city could capitalize on a new skatepark by hosting large events there. “In addition, it services an age group, particularly age 10-21, that are often overlooked,” commented Welk. “The neighborhood may also benefit by having park users patronize local businesses before and after trips to the skatepark.”

“As a regional park that is equipped to handle visitors, Lake Nokomis is perfect location for a skatepark,” agreed Siasoco. “Also the large number of families and kids in the neighborhood and surrounding area make the site ideal in terms of location.”

Hafermann observed, “The park is already a large, incredibly varied destination of sorts, and adding a skatepark would only increase the appeal.” He added, “Skateboarding is a healthy activity that challenges participants not only physically but also creatively. It can teach kids the value of persistence and become a focal point of the neighborhood.”

Skateboarders: a creative group

Many of the Generation X or younger artists and musicians often have memories of skateboarding in their youth or still continue to skateboard, noted Welk. “A number of these artists often cite skateboarding as a catalyst that pushed them down the art/music career path, and the city benefits by having a population of creative artistic people to contribute to it.”

“There is a lot more to skateboarding as a culture than just the act of skating, and I think better parks will help foster this side of skating, too,” added Hafermann.

“Skaters are incredibly creative people and channel that creativity through art, photography, music or anything else one can think of. Better skateparks will provide a gathering place for skaters and a place for skaters to be exposed to each others creativity beyond skating.”

Learn more at www.cityofskate.org.

SIDEBAR

Where should the skate park at Lake Nokomis be located?

- Bill Welk: “The superior location is the location that allows for the most square footage for a skatepark. It is my understanding that the rec center location allows more square footage, making it a better location. If the skatepark is in the busy location near the beach, you are likely to have a large number of users confined to a small area. Imagine 50 people trying to play basketball on one court. Skateboarders will go to the skatepark in either location, so the better location for all park users is to move the skatepark to the rec center area to avoid congesting a popular beach area. Additionally, by placing a skatepark near the rec center, it will make it easier for the park district to use the skatepark for rec center activities such as instructional skateboard camps.”

- Calvin Hafermann: “Many people like the idea of the park near the beach.  It would be very picturesque, and breezes coming off of the lake would be nice in the spring and summer.  While I would prefer the lake setting the rec center location would also be nice in terms of convenience for park staff and use of the rec center by skaters.”  

- Walt Siasoco: “I would like to see the skatepark by the beach, but the site near the Rec Center would be great in terms of oversight of the skatepark and proximity to bathrooms and parking.”

CAC recommends Rec Center location

At its Sept. 23, 2014 meeting, the Community Action Council for the Lake Nokomis/Hiawatha Regional Master Plan recommended that the skate park be located next to the rec center. The CAC recommendations will next go to the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board. The full Master Plan document will be available for open public comment for 45 days. It is expected the 45-day comment period will open on Nov. 5 and close at the earliest on Dec. 22. A public hearing on the plan will likely be held in January 2015.

This story was published in the November 2014 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.