Cedar Rapids skaters seek temporary solutions as Riverside Park closes for flood control work

CEDAR RAPIDS — With Riverside Park closed as of Monday to make way for flood control work, Ben Driscoll and his 7-year-old son Desmond have been going there every day — often twice a day — to enjoy their dwindling time left with permanent skate equipment.

The Driscolls have gone to the skate park — the city’s first, built in the 1990s — regularly for a couple of years. Crews will clear the equipment there soon, leaving the skateboarding community without a skate park to use through next summer.

The relocated and reconfigured skate park and playground at Riverside Park are being moved closer to C Street SW as part of the Czech Village 12th Avenue SW (Riverside Park) detention basin project, which includes the first phase of a $20 million detention basin, pump station and flood wall project adjacent to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.

Initially, the park was anticipated to be closed until around Memorial Day 2023.

According to a city project newsletter sent Sept. 16, the engineers adjusted the timeline for construction of the replacement skate park “to accurately reflect the time they felt was necessary for completion. The new timeline indicates construction could take place through next spring and summer, and into early fall.”

That’s a longer construction timeline than the local skateboarding community initially anticipated, meaning more time without a permanent space to skate.

“The concern to the skateboarding community when we heard about this was that this would go the way of most city projects — that it would be delayed and then probably delayed a little bit more, and that we would be left without anything in the meantime,” Driscoll said. “And that's kind of what's going on.”

However, city officials remain committed to exploring options for temporary equipment so skaters won’t be without a place to skate the entire time construction is underway.

“We understand that this will affect the skatepark community significantly and are looking at options for a temporary skate park that could be used next spring and summer,” the letter states. “We will reach out to get input when we determine what options are available.”

Driscoll said it’s frustrating to be without a park for several months, but the local skaters will make do in the meantime by building indoor ramps and other equipment where they’re able, or skating on the streets.

“It’s not going to stop us from skateboarding,” Driscoll said.

City staff anticipate sending requests for bids for construction in early October and receiving bids later during the month, according to the newsletter. The skate park is estimated to cost about $1 million.

A vision for a larger “destination” skate park in the Time Check area remains years away from coming to fruition, but staff anticipate seeking feedback as part of the planning process for the greenway along the Cedar River this fall.

Rob Davis, city flood control program manager, has said the Riverside project is funded through Iowa Flood Mitigation funds.

The state funding deal allows Cedar Rapids to keep 70 percent of the increase in state sales tax generated within the city, up to $15 million, for use within that budget year toward work on the $750 million permanent flood control system.

Some skaters have said they would have preferred the city build a new skate park before tearing down this one. But city officials say this plan will allow for the city to eventually have two skate parks — this one and the destination park — instead of just the one at Riverside Park.

Iowa Flood Mitigation dollars are “use it or lose it,” Davis previously said, the city didn’t have the option to put funds for the Riverside skate park relocation toward another facility.

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