Down To The Wire

Well, after nearly a year, the Burnside bridgehead development is coming to a head. About a week ago the Evaluation Committee released their recommendation that the Beam Development team should be granted the project. Of course, it is only a recommendation and the PDC Commission has the final say. The public has one more chance to testify before the PDC Commission before the final decision is made.

There was another public testimony that I wasn't able to get to last week and from what I understand, it was pretty clear that no developer has the project in the bag just yet. Next week, on April 27th, or shortly thereafter, the decision will be made and the Burnside bridgehead project will become a reality to the skaters of the skatepark.

So far, everything to do with the bridgehead has been like gossip around the park. There are very few skaters that I know of that have even seen what the new development may look like, or how it will effect the park. Starting this spring, no matter which developer gets the project, the reality will hit home. I'm pretty confident that the skatepark will come out of this sitting pretty good considering the size of the project going in not 20 feet away, but I also hope that the locals realize that it's going to happen and they just need to roll with it for a while.

What happens to the park, as in lighting, parking, restrooms, storage, or even extra skatepark space, is not yet in writing, so that is the number one priority of the skatepark right now. We will work as closely as possible with the developer to insure that the development and the skatepark mesh as seamlessly as possible. This is a huge, monumental time for Burnside. Not since the digging of the big bowl or surfacing the flat has the skatepark faced as large of a change as we face now. Stick around because in just over a week the real work begins.

That's it. Go skate!