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One park may settle under Interstate 375. Another will open at Fossil Park in May.
By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 12, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG -- Two new skate parks, one under a downtown interstate overpass, are edging closer to reality.
The City Council is considering a ramp and half-pipe complex on vacant land under Interstate 375 where it flies over Eighth and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets at Fourth Avenue N.
Meanwhile, another skate park is to open in Fossil Park in late May. It will be near the basketball courts at Willis S. Johns Recreation Center, 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.
The park, which will cost about $150,000 for design and equipment, is the result of a petition drive a young skater started more than a year ago.
"He went to neighborhood associations, and that's what got the ball rolling," said Leisure Services Administrator Lee Metzger.
Metzger said the park would be suitable for beginners.
"The idea would be, once they got there and developed the skills, the one under the interstate would be more intermediate to advanced," Metzger said.
The interstate park has not been designed, and a site plan has not been developed. It could cost the city up to $250,000 for a concrete pad, lighting, fencing, parking and restrooms on about 20,000 square feet. Metzger said the cost figure is an estimate.
Permission from the Florida Department of Transportation is needed to use the land.
"They don't think that's a problem; they just need to see what we're asking," Metzger said.
Money from funds generated by the 2001 sale of city property at Weeki Wachee in Hernando County will be used for both parks.
George Rahdert, a St. Petersburg lawyer whose Sk8 Park Inc. operates the Coquina Key park, has proposed that he operate the one under the interstate.
"My preference would be to get a grant to build it, and then we would supply some of the equipment and operate it and pay back a lease to the city," said Rahdert, who handles First Amendment cases for the St. Petersburg Times.
If approved, the park probably would replace the one in Coquina Key, which has been open for four years. lt is not heavily used because it is not on a main thoroughfare and doesn't enjoy high visibility, officials say.
"It's a terrible location," Rahdert said.
The North Downtown Neighborhood Association has supported the idea of the park in concept.
"We voted to at least give them initial support to go and get bids. We weren't actually voting on a final plan," said association president Tim Baker.
"I think a lot of people in our neighborhood would like to see some recreational opportunities for young people. We don't have that much in the way of recreation for young people," Baker said.
Some residents in Suncoast Towers condominiums, 841 Fourth Ave. N, have objected to the park, citing fears about safety, noise and traffic. Others said it might improve the area and discourage transients from sleeping under the interstate or gathering there to drink.