Skate park sparks interest in community residents

Longtime borough council member hopes to make long discussed project a reality.

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Image from Google Earth

The front-running location, the VFW site, is on an open asphalt lot.

A skate park has been a topic of conversation among Tyrone youth for years.  Interest in this on again, off again project has recently increased since Tyrone Borough Council Member Bill Latchford started a Facebook page to get public input and ideas for the facility.

“I am hoping this forum will allow us to get some input rolling on the idea of a skateboard and bike park in Tyrone,” said Latchford to the Facebook group, “This has been brought before me and now I want to see if I can get this moving forward.”

No more getting kicked out of every spot and no more middle-of-traffic skating.  It’s going to give people a whole new look on things, especially kids

— sophomore and skater Danny Barnes

“[The Facebook page] was able to get us somewhere that we’ve never been before and now we have a lot of public support,” said Latchford.

The time table for completion of the project has still not been determined, but Latchford hopes to make this dream a reality within a year.

“I’ve been on council for 20 years, and it is something that popped up about two times prior to this,” said Latchford, “I’ve always been for it myself, and there was always a reason why the project couldn’t happen. For some reason, we could really never get the word out. It just never seemed to take off at all.”

However momentum and support for the project seems to be increasing. Several locations and designs for the proposed park have been discussed on the Facebook page.

According to Latchford, the most promising location for the facility is a parking lot on 10th Street near the Tyrone VFW, though no official determination has yet been made.

The 10th Street/VFW location is desirable because it is centrally located and already designated for community space. A skate park on this site would be visible and easily accessible. The site is smaller than some other sites that are being considered, but it still has potential for expansion.

Other possible locations include the current Park Avenue playground, the top of Reservoir Park, and Shea Field near the American Eagle Paper Mill.

The Reservoir Park site has been all but eliminated because part of the land is designated as a wet land, making development on the site difficult.

The Park Avenue site was considered because the playground is easily accessible and it is in a kid-friendly environment. However, noise complaints were a concern.

The Shea Field site has plenty of space, no noise problems due to the highway already above it, and the neighbors in the area could provide a few eyes as makeshift security.

The youth of Tyrone have been excitedly sharing their thoughts for the project.

“It’s going to do very well for this town; for the kids who don’t play sports but love getting out to ride,” stated sophomore and skater Danny Barnes,” No more getting kicked out of every spot and no more middle-of-traffic skating. It’s going to give people a whole new look on things, especially kids.”

“Personally, I’m going to use the skate park often, and I feel as if a lot of other kids will too. My friends and I will  finally have a nice, safe place to skate. You know, without being yelled at for skating in parking lots!” said freshman skater Jamie Lynch.

Freshman Kathleen Cempa agrees, “It would be better if people had a nice place to skate or bike instead of the streets/parking lot.”

“Though I’m not a skater, it’s still a great place for teens to hang out with their friends,”said freshman Tyler Eaken.

“Even as a hangout, it’s a great project. I have a few people who have said ‘Oh well, not everyone will be able to take advantage of it.’ But honestly, not everyone can take advantage of our pool either. Not everyone can take advantage of our basketball courts. Not everyone can take advantage of every product or project that we put out there. Every facility that the borough has is not 100% compatible for everybody,” stated Latchford.

The Facebook page for the project has over 350 likes and counting.  Latchford encourages residents who are interested in the project to visit the page and participate in the discussion.