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July, 2008
Skate Park Coming to Eagle Mountain
In an effort to improve parks and trails, the Eagle Mountain City Council this month unanimously approved plans for the city's first skate park at Pony Express Memorial Park near City Center.
The skate park is expected to be finished in September.
The idea for the skate park has been discussed for years. And new Mayor Heather Jackson made improving parks and trails a priority during her campaign last fall.
Since the city was incorporated in 1996 with about 250 people, the population has ballooned by more than 7,000 percent to about 18,000 people, according to the latest census estimate.
Jackson notes the city's average age is 13, and it has a lot of young families.
As a mother of three youngsters, she said it is crucial the city provide preteens and teens with a place, such as the skate park, where they could hang out and not worry about skating in the street and getting hit by a car.
"It gives them a place where they can take ownership and enjoy themselves," Jackson says.
In March, the city formed a committee - made up of two adults, about five teens and city staffers - to research the idea and visit other skate parks.
Ethan, who has been skateboarding for more than two years, immediately volunteered to sit on the commission and invited his friends to attend the meetings about the park.
"All my friends and I were super happy about it," he says.
The commission made its recommendation and on July 1 the City Council approved the skate park. It will cost an estimated $300,000 and be built by Missouri-based American Ramp Co., says city spokeswoman Linda Peterson.
The project is part of $2.4 million in the city budget allocated to improving parks and trails this year, Jackson says.
The skate park will be free. Operating hours and whether in-line skaters will be allowed has yet to be determined, Peterson says.
Some Eagle Mountain parents, like their skateboarding kids, are eager for the skate park's arrival. Right now, Peggy Wilson, a mother of four, has to drive her 8- and 7-year-old sons to a skate park in American Fork, about 30 minutes away.
"The kids need something to do out here," Wilson says. "I hope [city leaders] bring other things, too." |
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