A local home for skateboarders and bikers will be going through a significant upgrade and transformation.
Fundraising is underway to raise $20,000 up fix up the Grand Forks Skatepark on 19th Street.
Skatepark committee spokesman Tyler Van Moll says they’re hoping to start work this fall.
“Basically to do all the things that are on our list for the revitalization project is roughly $50,000. We’re going to generate as much donations and support as possible and at least get started this fall,” Van Moll said in an interview with Vista Radio.
Van Moll noted the park, built in the early 2000s, is starting to show its age with crumbling cement and other issues.
This is the first phase of a larger three-phase project to improve and expand the park. On the agenda for next year is an expansion plan and adding lights.
Van Moll says the expansion would include finishing the open-ended bowl section and adding some entry-level features. The lighting would help with safety and increase the hours of operation considering kids are “chasing that last golden hour of the day” to skate and ride.
He says it’s pretty special to see the park so well used at any hour of the day.
“I’ll roll by the skatepark in the morning and I’ll see young families there with kids on Strider bikes and parents observing or maybe participating with their kids. Then around midday you’ll see an entirely different group of youth there right into the evening,” Van Moll said.
The committee got some help this month as city council agreed to issue tax receipts for donations of $100 or more.
Van Moll says they are “feeling very supported” by the City of Grand Forks and city council.
The Grand Forks Skatepark Committee, which is working with Discover Grand Forks, is also applying for a BC Gaming Grant.