VAN BUREN — The largest city in Crawford County wrapped up a survey seeking community input for a planned skate park and pump track last week.
American Ramp Co., a Joplin, Mo.-based business focused on designing and building teams skate and bike park facilities, closed the survey on its website at midnight Saturday.
Mayor Joe Hurst said Thursday the survey was posted online Aug. 19 after a public engagement meeting for the park project took place during the city Parks & Recreation Commission’s meeting Aug. 18.
Hurst said Van Buren is in the conceptual design phase for the project, which is intended to be at Dr. Louis Peer Memorial Park at 1764 City Park Road. The city completed a parks and recreation plan in 2015 after multiple community input meetings that called for a skate park at the location.
“Providing more recreational opportunities in Van Buren has been a big priority since 2015 and I’m excited about this next opportunity,” Hurst said.
Michael Brammer, chairman of the Parks & Recreation Commission, said the project would enhance quality of life in the city.
Brammer said the skate park and pump track at Louis Peer park would encompass a dilapidated city pool that’s closed to the public and its surrounding terraced landscape.
“Some existing features will be integrated into the new skate park and pump track, such as stairs, handrails, and the concrete bleachers where people used to sit and watch kids swim,” Brammer said. “The plan is to reuse and repurpose a large portion of the concrete from the pool in hopes of integrating it with some modern updates as one of the main attractions.”
The city anticipates the skate park and pump track to both have beginner, intermediate and advanced level features, according to Brammer.
Hurst said American Ramp Co. has been providing conceptual design services for the project since June 28. The company’s contract with the city lists the cost of its services at $16,000, which started with a kickoff meeting to review project goals, objectives, opportunities and constraints.
American Ramp Co. is set to summarize what it found through its community engagement to the city after the survey, according to the contract. It will then create an initial concept design based on project objectives, existing site conditions and target budget, which it will revise based on input from the city. The city from there will review and approve the final design for the skate park and pump track and receive a formal cost proposal to manufacture and install the approved design.
Hurst said the cost proposal should be submitted to the city “within the next few months.”
Links to the survey could be found on the city’s website, in addition to its Facebook and Twitter accounts. It consisted of questions concerning what the resident would like to see at the planned skate park and pump track, in addition to their skill level in their activities of choice, when and how often they believe they would use the park and how they would primarily access it. It also asked residents to select a specific age group that they fall into and provide their ZIP code.
Hurst said an estimated timetable for the project outlining when construction will begin and end, as well as when it will be open to the public, hasn’t been set yet.
Brammer noted American Ramp Co. developed the Riverfront Skate & Bike Park at 121 Riverfront Drive in Fort Smith that was completed in 2018.
[]
Print Headline: Survey finished for new Van Buren park
Copyright © 2022, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2022, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rights reserved.
About Author
