MARIETTA - The second phase of Marietta's skate park project - a concrete sidewalk and "street course" - could be constructed by the end of this year at Indian Acres Park, if grant funding can be secured.
"The estimated project cost is $68,380 for addition of the street course," said Mike Stocky, director of the city's development department.
"We already have $20,000 from the city's 2010 Community Development Block Grant, and we've applied for an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Nature Works Grant in the amount of $48,380," he said.
Stocky said ODNR would likely announce in August whether the grant would be awarded to the city.
The street course will consist of an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk and concrete skate course with ramps, steps, rails and box-shaped concrete structures on which skaters can ply their skills, according to Wayne Rinehart with the city engineer's office.
He said the course and sidewalk will ramp off of the concrete bowl that was the first phase of the skate project.
"The street course would run to just short of the walking trail at the park, and would be usable by skaters at all skill levels," Rinehart said. "The design of the course has not been completed as we're waiting to see if the grant funding comes through."
Aaron Reynolds with the local Skaters United group, helped construct the current concrete bowl and rail that has been used by skaters since October 2009.
He said the addition of the street course is great news for the skating community.
"There are basically two styles of skating - street and bowl," Reynolds explained. "Right now there's just a bowl that can be used by just one person at a time. But there are a lot of kids in town who like to skate on streets, and when we had meetings about developing the skate park we planned to add a street course."
He said the course would allow use of the skate park by more than one skater at a time, and it would help attract skaters from other areas to the Marietta park.
As for future development of the skate park, Rinehart said he has a vision to eventually enlarge the project into a "skate plaza" that would encompass all types of skate-related activities.
