Ramping up to redo popular park

One of Port Washington’s most used parks is about to get a facelift.

The Common Council recently approved $60,000 in improvements to the skateboard park on Moore Road.

The improvements will include three half-pipes, two quarter-pipes, a grind ledge, a kinked grind rail and several banked ramps and wedges.

In addition, American Ramp Co. will coat the equipment with a special paint to increase the longevity of the existing ramps, Supt. of Parks and Forestry Jon Crain said.

“Many of the (existing) ramps are from 2006,” he said, noting that’s when the park was created. Several of the ramps are beyond repair, he added.

The equipment, Crain said, “does get used hard. I would say next to Possibility Playground, it’s our second most-used park.”

Officials made note of that fact as they approved the project, which is funded through the 2021 budget.

“You notice it’s packed whenever it’s nice outside,” Ald. Jonathan Pleitner said. “This is great.”

“We’ve all seen this is a well-used place,” Ald. Dan Benning said.

Mayor Marty Becker said that the park is often bustling with activity, noting he drives past it three or four times a day.

The kids who hang out there, he added, work with youngsters just learning the sport.

“They’re very polite with the little kids,” Becker said. “They’re good together.”

Crain said a core group of young people spend a significant amount of time at the park and work hard to ensure it’s cared for.

“They clean it and take pride in it,” he said.

In addition to the new equipment, the city will add a bubbler with a bottle filler, benches with backs and trees to shade the park, Crain said.

The work will be done this year, and it should only take a couple days to install the new equipment, he said. The area will be fenced off and notices posted ahead of time so youngsters know what’s happening. 

Pleitner asked if the life span of the equipment is 15 years. It all depends on use, Crain said.

In the future, he said, the department may look at installing a concrete bowl for the skateboarders. At that point, he added, the city may search for sponsors to help finance the work.

Benning asked if the city plans to turn on the bubbler immediately after it’s installed, given the pandemic, noting the bottle filler isn’t an issue.

That hasn’t been decided, Crain said.