New skate park may be ready by June

Spohn Ranch completed construction on the Monitor Park skate park in Los Angeles last fall.

Courtesy Spohn Ranch

City Councilman Anthony Eramo and other council members spoke to residents at last week’s public engagement session for a new skate park.

Courtesy City of Long Beach

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City officials announced last week that construction of a new skate park should be completed by the summer, as the city continues to fast-track its plan to build the new structure for skateboarders near the Recreation Center.

“The goal is to have this park done before the end of June,” Department of Public Works Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba said at a Feb. 11 public input meeting, one of two forums where he and other officials discussed possible designs of the park — half-pipes, rails, bowls and other surfaces that would accommodate different skateboarding styles.

The project was originally scheduled for the 2015-16 fiscal year but has now been accelerated, members of the City Council said at the meeting.

On the bay side of Magnolia Boulevard, the Recreation Center does have a playground and a skate park for skateboarding and inline skating enthusiasts. But many in the skateboarding community say that the park has become outdated, and was significantly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. They also cited its less than optimal location near the city’s sewage treatment plant.

The new park will be closer to the Rec Center, near the outdoor roller hockey rink along the bay.

“I don’t skateboard, but I have a son who’s been skating for years,” City Councilwoman Fran Adelson said. “I’ve been hearing for a while that there are no good skate parks in Long Beach. So now we’re going to have one and it’s going to be great.”

In December, City Manager Jack Schnirman announced that $300,000 had been allocated for the project through the city’s five-year capital plan, and the council voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Los Angeles-based Spohn Ranch to design the park.

“We’re going to try and stretch that dollar as much as we can to really make that $300,000 go as far as possible,” LaCarrubba said. “There’s going to be work that the city is going to do alongside of Spohn Ranch to try and [direct] more of the funding toward the skate park.”

He explained that the department would not use any of the allotted $300,000 for additional infrastructure expenses — site demolition, drainage work, piping for water fountains and landscaping.