Recent rainfall is dampening the spirits of local skateboard and BMX enthusiasts.

For 15 years veteran and aspiring BMX (bicycle motocross) riders and skateboarders of all ages have gathered at the City of Sequim skateboard park and neighboring BMX track in Carrie Blake Park, but it’s becoming increasingly unsafe to do so.

“Safety is probably the biggest issue,” Chris Ryerson, a longtime BMX rider, said. “It’s (skatepark) filling with water from beneath.”

Because the ground is saturated after each rain event, water is forced upward through faults in the concrete of the skatepark. The standing water then causes the park to become slick and unsafe to use, Ryerson explained, with four friends and fellow park users nodding in agreement.

Ryerson has used the park and track almost everyday for the past five years and has witnessed the structural integrity of both the park and track decline.

“There are four spots now where water bubbles up,” he said. “I noticed the first crack about three years ago and it’s definitely getting worse.”

Because of the high water table, Joe Irvin, city manager assistant and park manager, admits, “There’s really not a whole lot we can do right now.”

“I think after the wet season we’ll need to evaluate it and potentially identify ways to mitigate the issue, but there’s no quick fix,” he said.

Water problems plus

Although time and weather takes a toll on the skatepark and track, users agree neither are really worth saving and instead hope to see each replaced and built correctly.

Coupled with flooding and inadequate drainage, Ryerson said the skatepark is unsafe and challenging to use because of its rough, bumpy surface and overall bad layout. But, given the status of the BMX track with its poor design, rock soils and encroaching vegetation, Ryerson still prefers to use the skatepark over the track.

When riding the skatepark, however, “There’s a lot of stuff that leads to nothing,” he said. “There’s really only a couple lines people can ride,” he said. “Pretty much only about half the park is ridable.”

According to Oct. 21 meeting notes by Hough Beck & Baird (HBB) Inc., the Seattle-based landscape architecture firm the City of Sequim is working with to design the Carrie Blake Community Park Master Site Plan, a utility contractor with “no real experience designing and building a skate facility” won the bid to construct the Sequim Skateboard Park.

“Years ago the city tried to reach out for this facility and met with some skaters, laying out pieces and skate elements: volcano, pyramid and ledges,” according to the notes. “These were then cobbled together without much thought to how skaters flow from element to element or how important the surface texture is.”

Sourcing solutions

Recognizing the skatepark and BMX track are in need of attention, both amenities are somewhat addressed in the effort to develop a master site plan for Carrie Blake Park. Having spent many hours collaborating with HBB Inc., and after hosting an open house in early November on three park plan alternatives, Irvin presented the draft plan to the city council on Dec. 14.

Following the city council meeting, another open house was held on Dec. 15 where individuals from the skateboard and BMX community came and voiced their needs and concerns.

“Frankly, one of the neatest things about this master site planning process is getting to know the different park users like the skateboard and BMX community and understand what their needs are,” Irvin said. “The skateboard folks are saying a differently designed skatepark would be ideal.”

“That’s a longterm endeavor,” he said given the time and funding needed to create a new park.

The Carrie Blake Park Master Site Plan doesn’t include the design specifics of a skatepark, nor does the city have a funding plan for skatepark improvements, Irvin said. But, the plan does identify and designate the space available for one.

“The city is committed to working with the skateboard community to understand what a desired skatepark would look like,” he said. “From there we can sit down and start to strategize funding options.”

To help bring the concept of a new skatepark closer to reality, owners and founders of a Sequim skateboard shop are preparing to start a nonprofit to raise funds and already have consulted with Grindline Skateparks, a Seattle-based skatepark design and construction company.

“The goal is to make the skatepark more desirable, attractive and safe for kids,” Shaun Jones Sr., Dynamic Board Shop founder and owner, said. “Kids aren’t skating here anymore because there’s nowhere for them to safely learn or skate … it bums me that skateboarding is dying here.”

Jones, a lifelong skateboarder, moved to Sequim in 1986 and was involved with the original push to install a skateboard park in Sequim during the mid-1990s.

In working with Grindline Skateparks, Jones is confident whatever park is built will be “done right this time,” he said. “I see a whole different future for this park.”

Jones also would like to include a BMX track, but envisions it being separate from the skatepark for safety given the high speeds associated with BMX.

“I’m glad that they are self-organizing and have some leadership to start fundraising,” Irvin said of those like Jones and Ryerson. “It’s great the energy and momentum they’re bringing to the table.”

However, unlike the skatepark, the BMX track is “hardly used and what’s there isn’t worth salvaging,” Irvin said. Thus, under the draft Carrie Blake Park Master Site Plan, eight pickleball courts are slated for construction in the location of the BMX track.

Irvin envisioned the BMX track as more of a “regional use” when creating the master site plan for the park.

“So when we looked at community park uses, it made more sense to take a separate longterm approach to the BMX track,” he said.

Instead of trying to “jam it into Carrie Blake Park,” Irvin anticipates working with the county and/or large lot property owners to secure a location better suited to build a BMX track and can also accommodate spectators with bleachers.

Master site plan

Irvin plans to present a final version of the Carrie Blake Park Master Site Plan to the city’s Park and Recreation Board on Feb. 1 and to the city council on Feb. 8. At that time it’s possible the council will take action on the plan, he said.