Proposed Lake City Skatespot featured on skateboard website

A screenshot of the Parents for Skateparks website features the proposed Lake City park on its' homepage.

The website Parents for Skateparks featured a concept drawing of a proposed skatespot at Lake City Playfield, also known as Virgil Flaim Park on their website recently.

"The Owl," as the design was named, is in the early stages but the project has committed supporters in the neighborhood and the support of some in the local business community.

The skatespot could transform Virgil Flaim Park. The park is now known as a place where chronic inebriates gather and loiter. Studies have shown that use of a park discourages such nuisance behaviors and the skatespot would likely be the most consistently used feature of the park.

The Lake City Comprehensive Plan, a neighborhood plan for our community written over a decade ago with goals from 1999 - 2014, requested a skatepark under Goal 11/ Strategy 3/ Action E.

Provide youth with lawful, constructive activities:

Develop a family-oriented skateboard park... with picnic benches, artwork and other public amenities, near the Civic Core.

The Citywide Skatepark Plan also has the Lake City Playfield, now known as Virgil Flaim Park, designated as a preferred candidate for a "SkateSpot," a skatepark that is fewer than 10,000 square feet.

The Citywide Skatepark Plan lists the cost for a SkateSpot at roughly $640k - a pretty steep price tag. However, there are funding sources such as grants for park improvements.