Shoreview skate park upgrades move along

The commission agreed on the first option presented, which was to prioritize repaving, which would demolish existing walls, chain-link fencing and lawn area. Other options were to add lighting for after-dusk use or expand the park by about 2,000 square feet.

“Staff’s recommendation is prioritizing the replacement of the repaving as this aligns with the community input and addresses the need for surface improvements,” Project Manager King Leong said.

Ryen Motzek, a San Mateo resident and active member in the skateboarding community, said he’d prefer the park to be repaved but also felt like skaters shouldn’t have to choose between that and lights, as it should’ve been added to the park when it was originally constructed.

“I’d like to advocate for a fusion. Given the budget that was presented, there is probably a possibility for repaving and maybe expansion,” Motzek said. “I also want to echo the sentiments about lights. Since the park was built, the tennis court and basketball court had lights and the skate park didn’t. There seemed something off about it … we don’t want to get greedy, but the skate park does need a bit of improvement.”

Other public commenters suggested a pump track, looping circuits that bikers can also use, which was also added to the recently constructed skate park in South San Francisco.

However, the allotted budget will likely only cover one of the options.

“Parts of the project are of course construction costs, but there are also soft costs, which involves consulting costs .. and project management time for staff, so in this number that is budgeted, we have to accommodate hard costs, construction costs, and soft costs, admin costs and any kind of permit fees and whatnot,” Leong said. “It’s not all just going to construction.”

The construction cost for each option ranged anywhere from $200,000 to $325,000.

The commission recommended prioritizing repaving, followed by lighting as the second priority. It will come back to the commission after a final cost estimate is conducted. The skate park is in Shoreview Park, near LEAD Elementary School.