Involved Community
How one skate park brought a community together.
The WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza has been a lingering thought in the Eugene community since 1990. When the planning for the park officially began in 2004, no one expected it to take 10 years before the unveiling of the park, but the economic downturn jeopardized funding for the project and the City of Eugene put the plan on hold in 2009. After a while, in true Eugene spirit, community members began begging the city to build the park. The city subsequently did and the park officially opened in 2014. In retrospect the park has had a wild ride of developmental difficulties, but now provides a truly beneficial aspect to the community. No one knows more about the development and current status of the park better that the Project Manager, Emily Proudfoot. With her insight, the public has a clear understanding of what and who’s all involved in the new skate park, and why this community attraction already proves to be a great asset to Eugene.
Proudfoot took over the project in 2008 and has been a fundamental player in the development ever since. While the responsibilities of being the project manager fell into her lap when she took on her new position, Proudfoot says she couldn’t have been more excited to be a part of the development. The community was begging for this skate park and that ambition was extremely motivating to Proudfoot. The backstory of how the idea for the park came about is extremely important in understanding the need for it in the community. In 1990, several skateboarders developed a Skate Park Task Team Report, which asked the city for a skate park in a central location. On it, in big bold letters, was a statement that read, “Skateboarding is a legitimate sport that does not have a legitimate venue.” The report made five recommendations, including one to build a regional scale skate park under the cover of the Washington Jefferson Bridge. Fast-forward to 2004 when the city began the initial Parks and Open Space Master Plan process. Since the park ran into economic troubles, building was put on hold in 2009. It wasn’t until the next year that building and funding started up again. The park officially opened in April 2014 and at 23,000 square feet it is the largest outdoor undercover skate park in the United States.
Although Proudfoot is not a skateboarder, she still recognizes the skate park as a valuable contribution to the Eugene community. One important aspect of this skate park is the location. Most skate parks in Eugene are located on the outskirts of the city, but WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza is located in the heart of the city, bringing together a wide variety of skaters, family members, and community members. Another huge community aspect is the involvement from the public on social media. With thousands of followers on social media, Eugene’s WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza is now well known among the national skateboarding community. Data analytics before the park was even open to the public showed that majority of the social media followers were from the east coast. This is the kind of recognition that the parks creators thought they could only dream of.
Most people involved with the park can clearly recognize the success of WJ. Proudfoot explains that the success of the park is extremely gratifying. She said, “The fact that hundreds of people are coming here and skating, that they’re from all over the place, and that they are really good skaters … it’s enormously gratifying.”
Not only has the park become a place for people to come skate and watch skating, it has also contributed to a lower crime rate in the area. Before construction of the park began, the area was severely overgrown with vegetation and acted as hiding spot for drug deals, murders, and other crimes. The design of WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza opened the space into a clearly visible park. The overhead lighting keeps the park lit to allow skaters to see their terrain and to create a safe environment for people of all ages. Now that the park has opened to the public, skaters are aware of the rules and expectations. They have taken the initiative to clean up trash and keep the environment family-friendly. Also, Eugene police work to keep smoking and open containers at the park to an absolute minimum. Community members are excited to have a facility such as the WJ Skatepark and are driven to keep it thriving.
Currently, park coordinators are preparing for the grand opening event. This is another way that community members can get involved in the park. The event will host various food and merchandise vendors, live music, and free skate time. Most importantly, the event will have free skate lessons to promote physical activity and use of a public space at the same time. This is just one example of how the park is making a clear effort to make sure the success of the park sustains in further years. The future is bright for the park and Proudfoot expects its success to bring in even more skateboard enthusiasts through the hosting of skateboard competitions. The plaza will also house food, retail, and community vendors on a consistent basis, which helps support local businesses. Although the park was built with skateboarders in mind, it has been produced to allow community members to get involved in many different ways.
WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza is a reflection of Eugene’s culture of being a welcoming and safe city. By recognizing the desire from the public for a central skate park, city staff made an enormous effort to develop WJ spanning 24 years. Although this project initially began in 1990, the encouragement from the community has been prevalent since day one. The park has been open for a little over a month now, and the level of community activity has been incredible. With the park a few days shy from its grand opening, and the already high number of skaters, watchers, and park enthusiasts, there is no doubt that the park will continue to thrive within Eugene. This enormous skate park and plaza is not something people want to miss out on, and can only be found within the great state of Oregon.