Skateboarders tell officials, architects what they want in a Bluffton skate park

Plans for a skate park in Bluffton are still in the pipeline, and residents already have a vision for the stretch of space in Buckwalter Regional Park that could soon become a second home for board enthusiasts.

More than 20 people turned out for a public meeting and informal brainstorming session Wednesday at the Bluffton Library to share ideas for the park with county engineers and architects.

Many attendees were teenage skateboarders who often travel to other area parks to work on their moves, but want a facility near their Bluffton neighborhoods.

Residents Sam Burns, 16, and Ryan Roberts, 19, were among the most vocal in the group. The pair spearheaded an effort in August to convince Bluffton Town Council to consider building a skate park. The two, working with a group of friends, collected more than 1,000 signatures in support of their petition.

"People drive. People go to Beaufort and Hilton Head everyday," Burns said Wednesday, referring to the other area municipalities that already operate successful skate parks. "They just want change. They don't want to skate the same thing everyday."

Roberts agreed.

"Just as long as it's something original, something no one else has, people will come to it," he said.

Mark Clancy of Charleston firm Clancy Wells Architects, and Jennifer Ray of Hilton Head landscape architecture and planning firm Woods and Partners, took notes as attendees described the features they think will make the park roll.

Among them:

• Sunrise to sunset hours of operation.

• Concrete surfaces, poured on-site rather than pre-fabricated elsewhere. Enthusiasts say the on-site surface skates better, particularly after it rains.

• A mix of street-scape and plaza-like space, with ramps and obstacles appropriate for both beginners and advanced riders.

• Areas for bikes, rollerblades and anything on wheels in addition to skateboards.

• Water fountains and vending machines.

• Space to hold competitions and to accommodate spectators.

County engineer Bob Klinksaid few details for the skate park, among them a specific budget allocation and potential square footage, have been decided.

The park is incorporated into the master plan for Buckwalter and there will likely be money to construct it, he said.

The next step is to get final approval from the county and from Bluffton town officials, Klink said.

After that, a design will be developed and a construction timeline set.

The ideas collected at the meeting will be used as the project moves forward, Ray said.

"We wanted to know what they, the citizens, want," she said. "We didn't want to tell them what we have."