MIDDLEBORO — The vegetation-covered cracks in the surface, the pieces of collapsed fence and the rusted ramps show that Middleboro’s skate park is in need of repair – and the city knows it.
Middleboro has applied for a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Parkland Acquisition and Renovation for Communities grant to build the skate park next to the recently renovated Peirce Playground.
According to applicant Stephanie Hall, the grant, which the city applied for in July, will finance a two-year project to plan and build a new skate park at the existing location.
Since 2020, a group of residents whose parents were involved in the development of the existing skate park have been pushing for the skate park’s renovation, Hall said.
The skate park was built over 20 years ago on old tennis courts using components from another city facility and has not been renovated since, Hall said.
The proposal for the new facility calls for a fully integrated design with concrete components, similar to what other cities in the region have built in recent years.
This design would make the park accessible not only to skateboarders, but also to skaters or bikers, Hall said.
Thirteen-year-old Sam America, who has been going to the skate park since she was four, would like to have a less bumpy surface on which she can ride her scooter.
Her other wishes for the project are safer jumps and the installation of a no-smoking sign, she said.
Safety is a top priority for Sam’s father, Donald McLellan, who described conditions at the current facility as “very dangerous.”
The number of children “racing” through the park on electric bikes makes him even more unsafe, he said. “I almost saw several accidents and many children were injured.”
McLellan recommended installing one-way streets in the new park to avoid collisions.
Kason Curry, a frequent visitor to the skate park, remembers nearly returning home with a chipped tooth because his scooter’s wheel got stuck in a crack and he landed face down on the ground.
His recommendations for modernization included repairing the cracks, new ramps and a larger facility.
The grant would provide $495,000 in funding for the project, but the total cost of the renovation would be an estimated $750,000, Hall said.
The remaining $255,000 will be covered by additional grants since the project is not included in this year’s budget, said City Manager Jay McGrail.
The city is expected to find out by fall whether it has been approved for the grant, Hall said, pointing out that it is “a very competitive process.”
If the city’s request is rejected, “we will try to get creative with financing options,” McGrail said.
“We are really excited about the project and the city is committed to making it happen,” he said.
His goal is to turn the leisure complex with a skate park and modernized playground into “a destination for all age groups and residents of the city,” he said.
McLellan is also an advocate of a facility that is accessible to all ages. “If there was a skate park with an area for little kids and one for big kids, I think that would be great.”
