I’m just realizing this was officially renamed, approved by City Council. I’m happy for the new name as I’ll be able spell it easily, but expect many will probably add the E to Smoky from time to time.
Now let’s get started on the remediation!
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Whoa Nelly, slow down there pal. They just approved the renaming!!! Gotta have some breathing room between each step, say a year or two, or 3, or fourteen. As things usually go.
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Is this a short term project for the park?
Could it be added to the permanent park?
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I don’t recall there being a skate park as part of any of the plans but I’ll never claim to be smart and those plans could have changed.
Seems like quite an effort and expense to just build one for a couple of years.
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The link says operational from 2023 to 2025, so I guess it’s temporary.
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This was mentioned earlier as a temporary installation while the park itself gets fully planned and remediation started in sections. It’s not going to continue into the actual construction and finalization of the park.
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I’m no skater, but would love for our downtown to have a permanent skatepark. Hopefully this project is a huge success and the city takes notice and finds a place to put a permanent skate park.
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Skate park? I’m just a grumpy old curmudgeon, and I’ll leave it at that. 
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I’ll believe it when I see it. The ramps are going to be prefabricated which are always terrible. The city hates skateboarders in the streets but does not incorporate skateparks into any of the major park plans such as Dix, Smoky Hollow and Chavis. The Chavis Park master plans had a plan to put skate-able objects on the greenway but that disappeared once they started the renovations. Skateboarders have resorted to building their own DIY parks on abandoned cement slabs over the years around the Raleigh/Durham area.
I’ll go ahead and give myself a grumpy cat.
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Raleigh’s DIY skate scene is awesome. It’d honestly be nice if they just gave us the cement slab on this part of the park and let the skaters go wild with what they wanna build. Look at Marsh Creek, the former roller rink is now more popular to skate than the actual park.
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Can we also have an electric scooter park for those who just use them for joyriding and entertainment?
Just tell joyriders to take their scooters to the landfill and solve two problems at once.
I’d like to see this skate park on the NORTH side of Dorch St — replacing the automotive businesses.
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South of Dortch will be the future location SEHSR overpass/ROW. Being that it will a row of stacked columns, activation of that otherwise wasted space could lend itself to a skate park.
North of Dortch falls into the whole dream of Capital Boulevard’s renovation. That’s another project entirely with no plans for the automobile businesses.
Either way, the eminent domain axe comes into play.
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Good to know for when that gets done in 3022
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It looks like the skatepark is breaking ground today. ABC11 crew and this digger on site today. As well as a new Skate Raleigh banner on the property fence.
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For the entrance of the park it would be great if they had “tree plazas” like this one in Boston:
These plazas would go well anywhere downtown it would be nice to see one here and Dix park given the designs for the two parks.
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Tbh this would be pretty sweet in the middle of some of the wider roads downtown. Edenton street comes to mind. Would need a 2-way conversion tho. But would make it a much more pleasant walk if crossings are plentiful.
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Ive been following this pretty closely for years as it is one of my most anticipated city projects and they’ve recently updated the timeline to completion date to 2027. This was named a priority project by the city in 2012. 15 years from that to finished on land that, to my knowledge, the city already owned. That seems insane to me but maybe it was far more complicated than I realize. Either way, will be stoked when it is here. It will add a ton to the entrance into the city, especially when surrounding development is complete. I will not stop pushing for an elite permanent skate park to be included 
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