Some people want their dream skate park to have a snake run. Others wish for amenities like public art, WiFi and shade. These are just some of the requests Montgomery County Parks has received from residents as planning begins for building five skate parks.
“Everyone who’s ever been to a skate park has an opinion,” said Darren Flusche, the county’s division chief for park planning and stewardship. “It’s about the flow, the features, whether or not the design is welcoming or fosters a more exclusive attitude among users. We want to make sure we get those things right.”
In a 2022 planning survey, Flusche’s office found that nearly 12 percent of respondents did not believe there were enough skate parks in the county. That demand was visible when they looked out their windows: “We’ve just built a brand-new office building for our parks department, and within weeks I witnessed workers putting up a sign saying no skating in this plaza,” Flusche said. “When you don’t have a skate park, people want to use your whole community.”
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More than 400 people have filled out the survey, which is due Sept. 30, and many have requested to be part of the project’s design focus group. Flusche estimated that the parks could cost from hundreds of thousands of dollars to multimillions. Before this project, the county had built its most recent skate park in 2012.
The five new locations are:
- Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park Skate Park (expected opening: fall 2025).
- Wheaton Regional Park Adventure Sports Park (expected opening: late 2026).
- Long Branch Local Park Skate Park (expected opening: spring 2026).
- Newport Mill Skate Park (construction expected to begin in 2024 or 2025).
- South Germantown Recreational Park Skate Park (construction expected to begin in 2025).
A handful of skaters were out Wednesday evening practicing tricks on the ramps, rails and boxes at Rockville Skate Park. Among them was Jaelinn Fruth, 21, sporting a pair of purple inline skates with red laces. In between her shifts at Safeway’s deli, she drives 30 minutes to reach the nearest skate parks — either in Rockville or Olney.
“I’m hoping one will open up closer to me,” Fruth said. She lives in Damascus, which will be closer to the Ovid Hazen Wells location.
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Skateboarder Maxwell Miller, 24, recently filled out the survey. He requested lights and obstacles, such as pipes, rails and ramps.
“Skating is a healthy vice,” he said. “It’s a good way to get outside and get your mind off of stuff.”
Vaughn Besley, 29, said he would have benefited from living near a skate park when he was a kid. When he started rollerblading at age 11, the nearest park was 40 minutes away by bus. He resorted to building his own skate rails at home using PVC piping and wood, carrying them out to the cul-de-sac to practice.
“I got hurt one day,” he said. “I built my own practice rail for a trick called a unity, which is putting both of your feet together in a grind, but I slipped out. It was like, ‘Do I really need to be doing this?’”
After the injury, Besley stopped skating. But his inline skates, decorated with feminist and gay pride stickers, called his name again 16 years later. Now, he comes to Rockville for a dedicated space to skate and socialize — and he hopes the new parks will bring this kind of joy to other people.
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“It just brings me back to a simpler time,” he said. “I just feel like I can do anything.”
Many of the new skate parks will be added on to existing parks. Two of them — Long Branch Local Park Skate Park and Newport Mill Skate Park — are supported by state funding. Others grew out of community master plans or focus groups with the parks department.
Skate shop owner Kaare Wieneke wishes Bethesda was on the list. He built an indoor skate park in the back of his shop, Bethesda Boards, to meet community demand.
“I have three boxes full of waivers, and each one is a person who skated at my store because there’s no skate park in Bethesda,” Wieneke said. “Thousands of people have skated on my tiny ramps because there’s nothing here.”
Flusche said his office is aware of the interest in Bethesda, but there are not any immediate opportunities to build a skate park there right now.
“The skate parks are coming so late,” Wieneke said. “I’m kind of sad, but I’m glad they’re finally here.”
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