Skate Park to be built in Silver Spring

This article is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from "Wheels start spinning for Silver Spring skate park" by Meredith Hooker of The Gazette.

The Park and Planning Commission of Silver Spring has created a plan to expand the recreational park located on Fenton Street and Philadelphia Avenue and add a skate park. According to The Gazette, the park is to be between 1.5 and 2 square acres and the skateboarding facility will be approximately 14,000 square feet.

Miguel Iraola of Park and Planning told The Gazette that planners have purchased land for the expansion and skate-park project. Property on Burlington Avenue has been purchased and planners also wish to buy property close to Selim Road. Both property acquisitions will be used primarily to expand the park.

Although area has been acquired for the project, actual production of the park expansion and skateboarding facility cannot begin until a few years from now, says The Gazette. Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission's team leader for Silver Spring and Takoma Park said during an Urban District Advisory Board meeting that took place recently that the park project plan must be handed over this year to the Montgomery County Capital Improvement Program for county-funding consideration. The project needs to become a significant priority for the County Council to grant financial support, said Gary Stith, Director of the Silver Spring Regional Center, according to The Gazette.

The Gazette reports that the planners decided to create a plan for a new skate park because they felt the area needs one. The former Silver Spring skate park on Ellsworth Drive, between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue, was shut down during the City's re-development construction, leaving the community with no skate park.

As of now, The Gazette says that planners have yet to determine what type of skating equipment the new facility will have, as well as other particular details of their project. The Gazette also says that the planners hope to have the recreation department manage the skate park if and when it is opened.