CINCINNATI — A skatepark is coming to Camp Washington, but some local skateboarders are hoping to have a space in Cincinnati to legally skate in before the skatepark is built.
Evan Walker is the founder of the Cincinnati Skatepark Project — the group that's been spearheading these projects.
He's been skateboarding since middle school.
“We didn’t have a place to skate and we’d get in trouble for it," Walker said.
He wants Cincinnati kids to have a different experience, which is why he founded the Cincinnati Skatepark Project.
Last year, the skate community showed up to Cincinnati's community budget hearings and were able to get $250,000 in funding from the city for a skatepark.
It's set to be built in Camp Washington, next to the pool.
“It’s going to take another year for it to get developed," Walker said.
The Cincinnati Skatepark is still fundraising for the rest of the money needed for the project and working with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission on the project, which is in the design phase.
"And in the meantime, skateboarding is going to be in the Olympics this summer in Paris, kids are looking for a place to skate right now,” he said.
Walker said skateboarding is banned in city parks and on the street, so his next mission is to get a skate space built in Cincinnati before the Camp Washington Skatepark opens.
“We want to create spaces as soon as possible, even like what we’re pushing for right now — a space that’s built with community labor, community engagement. Just a small space to get people skating right now while we work on the park in Camp Washington," he said.
Something similar has already been done on a larger scale in Newport.
Walker said he's working with City Council members and the City Manager's office on this, but he's encouraging the skate community to make their voices heard too.
“We really need a space first that we can get started on this spring and summer," he said.
Walker said this access is especially important for Cincinnati kids and teens.
“We hear a lot of talk about getting young people active outside, staying out of trouble, reconnecting neighborhoods and communities that were cut off by highways and stuff, and we have a project that we think can do that and beautify the neighborhoods," he said.
You can find more information about these projects or how to get involved here.
