East Portland is home to Portland's first skate plaza. Although Ed Benedict Skate Plaza is the fifth skatepark to open under Portland Parks & Recreation's Skatepark System Plan, it's the first designed in street skating style. Typical skateparks are a mass of concrete featuring bumps, bowls, ledges and banks. Ed Benedict offers true street skating features such as stairs, handrails, benches and other elements typically found in an urban environment.
This is how the designer, Newline Skateparks, describes the park:
This distinctly organic design features approximately 16,000 square feet of skateable terrain punctuated with green channels and 2 major bio filtration islands. The project will serve as Portland's first legitimate plaza based facility and one of the Pacific Northwest's first ‘Green' skatepark developments. The design was developed in close collaboration with artists from Portland's local skate community and features a number of custom sculptural elements, stamp patterns and diverse material combinations.
According to the PP&R website, Ed Benedict is considered to be the first environmentally sensitive skate plaza ever constructed:
Environmental sustainability goals have guided the design and construction of the skate plaza. It is considered the first environmentally sensitive skate plaza ever constructed. The environmental guidelines for the project were influenced by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) green building rating system. The project's environmentally sensitive development was based on design and construction procedures, material use, and storm water management.
Vann Starr, PP&R Construction Manager, says the base rock used for the plaza is recycled concrete, and construction waste material—wood forms and steel—were recycled. The most unique feature is the infiltration ponds within the plaza. All surfaces, except the transition and sidewalk east of the transition, slope to the ponds, capturing the storm water runoff from the plaza. Only in the heaviest of rains would there be runoff, and it would percolate into the soccer fields and not enter the storm drains. "I don't think there are any similar skateparks that have ponds and vegetation within the park so that there is no runoff," says Starr.
Another interesting plaza detail is that the coping—the surface on which skateboarders perform slide or grind tricks—is a high strength 6000psi concrete. It's water-cured at the factory and then installed on site, and it is superior to typical pool coping, because it can sustain stronger impacts before chipping.
If my visit to the park over Memorial Day weekend was any indication, the Ed Benedict Skate Plaza is already a huge success. Skateboarders of all skill levels were out practicing, doing tricks and having fun, while their parents soaked up the sun on the nearby lawn.
The park has been open since February, but will host its opening ceremony tomorrow (Saturday, May 30).
Check out the slideshow of East Benedict Skate Plaza or visit our Flickr gallery.
I love Portland's skatepark system. Visited all the parks a couple summers ago with my nephew and it was such a treat. Loved to watch the skaters, but really loved the supportive atmosphere. Most of all, I like that admission to the skateparks is free. The Ed Benedict Skate Plaza is amazing and we're so lucky to have it here in Portland.