Even if you don't happen to be a skateboarding enthusiast, there's still a decent chance--assuming you've lived in Philly for any amount of time--that you're familiar with our city's legendary status among skateboarders worldwide. What you might not be aware of, however, is that a local nonprofit organization known as Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund (
FPSF) is currently in the process of reviving and growing the skateboarding scene here, and in a very major way.
Near the end of May, FPSF, which is "dedicated to the advancement of skateboarding in the Greater Philadelphia region," according to a recent press release, made public an ambitious 31-page
master plan for the future of Philadelphia's skatepark development.
The plan was created in partnership with the city's
Parks and Recreation Department, and was completed by the Center City-based
Friday Architects/Planners. According to FPSF's
Claire Laver and
Josh Nims, it's only the first phase of a study that will eventually see $11 million spent on the planning and construction of somewhere between 30 and 40 skateboarding spots throughout the city and the surrounding region.
"It's our goal to continue working on this, and to eventually create a plan that covers every corner of the city," says Laver. "But we have a lot of projects on our plate with this first phase."
The master plan's first phase focuses exclusively on sites in the west and southwest regions of the city, and according to Nims, one of the first projects involves the skatepark at
McCreesh Playground, which will see further development this summer. The
Miles Mack Playground is also mentioned in the master plan, as is the
Rose Playground in Overbrook.
In the meantime, FPSF is sponsoring the international
Go Skateboarding Day on June 21; among other area skate spots, both Miles Mack and McCreesh will host events.
Source: Claire Laver and Josh Nims, Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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