Skaters flip for North Bend park
Published 2:39 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
NORTH BEND — The flip, the flop, a 360 and 540, do a stall and
jump for the grab. With its own lingo, gear and style, the skate park at
Torgusen Park in North Bend attracts kids from all over the region for summer fun
and a little competition.
Opening in the spring of 1999, the skate park and bicycle dirt hills
initially raised concerns about city liability and the potential for
unsupervised teens to run amok. Now in its second year of operation, the park is a big
hit with kids and parents.
The nearly $500,000 needed to build the skate park, enlarge and
improve parking and install restrooms came from a Community
Development Block Grant and supplemental funds from the North Bend City
Park Capital Improvement Fund.
In exchange for the bike riders’ promise to stay out of the
concrete skate park, Mayor Joan Simpson agreed to look for an alternative
for them. Her efforts were successful. Dirt for the bike jumps was donated
and BMX bicycle riders shaped the hills. At no cost to the city, the dirt hills
were ready just a few months after the skate park opened.
Skate boards and inline skates rule at the sculptured concrete park.
Kids of all ages and the occasional adult speed by with jumps, twists and
flips punctuating their routine. Initial concerns that the park would turn into
a hangout proved unfounded, and there have been no liability claims
lodged against the city.
North Bend Special Projects Coordinator Sara Barry said the city
is pleased with the outcome.
“There are the usual problems, but no more so
than anywhere else in the city.”
Sara Barry
Special Projects Coordinator
City of North Bend
The main thing I would like people to know is that it’s there.
The entrance can be hard to see, so we hope parents are aware that the skate
park and dirt hills are there for them to enjoy.”
In an unscientific study, a somewhat over-the-hump adult decided
to test the skate park for the Valley Record. The individual, who shall
remain unnamed by request, holds competitive figure skating medals from
the 1960s.
Standing on a skateboard while looking down the gentlest hill, the
test subject noticed a weakening of knees and wobbling ankles. The ground
appeared ominously far away, and the whoosh of an 8-year-old doing a
540 (one and one-half turns while in the air) and landing a mere few feet
distant made our subject extremely fearful of a collision in which he or
she would sustain considerable pain.
In the best interests of the observers, the other skaters and the
reluctant individual, the test skate was canceled. However, for the rest of the
community, the skate park and dirt hills are open until dusk daily.
