Tallahassee skaters have a new park to show off their skills.
Skateboarders of all ages buzzed around the FAMU Way skate art park during its grand opening on Wednesday. The $2.8 million Blueprint 2020 project is part of the Capital Cascades Trail and includes a striking tribute to nearby Florida A&M University in the form of a 225-foot snake-shaped trail.
Blueprint director Autumn Calder said the park was born out of efforts to move skateboarders out of Cascades Park and develop parts of the action plan on the south side of town, while improving recreational spaces. on the south side of Tallahassee.
Blueprint President Nick Maddox noted that the park and adjoining Coal Chute Pond would be a gathering space for people from across the city and a recreational opportunity to break down barriers.
“It will be a place where people come together as a community,” Maddox told the crowd of hundreds. “You’ll get every demographic, every unique race coming together for fun on the south side of town.”
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The local skate community, government officials and designers worked together on the development of the park. Its opening comes 20 years after the city’s first skatepark opened on Jackson Bluff Road, said Orly Vasquez, founder of Phaze One Skate Shop.
“I really can’t believe this happened,” Vasquez said. “Unity and community really came through with this park. Everyone’s hard work really came to fruition.
The skate park was designed by the Winter Springs-based company Team Pain Skate Parksowned by Tim and Linda Payne.
Tim Payne said hundreds of local children were involved in shaping the look and feel of the park. It gave them a voice and a chance to be represented in a world where “No Skateboarding” signs are prevalent, he said.
“It was the imagination of young people that brought this park to life,” said Tim Payne.
Contact Karl Etters at [email protected] or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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