Today on my break, I decided to log on to the YouTube and check out some video clips.
When I logged on, I noticed something very strange. The views for my clip about the new Caldwell plaza had garnished 50 views since I last logged on the night before.
I didn't think too much about it until I met Theo at the park and he told me that my video was mentioned on the front page of the Idaho Press Tribune!
My only worry is that I'm not shure if Site Design ( the firm that drafted the park) would be down with my leaking their photos.
Oh well.
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Here's the story:
Caldwell ready to roll forward on skate park
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 2:55 AM EDT
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Outdoors: Addition to local recreational options designed to attract skaters from all over
By Bryan Dooley - newsroom@idahopress.com
CALDWELL — The design of the Pipe Dream Park skating area in Caldwell has been finalized, and the first phase of construction could begin within a month. “The design is the result of various input and everyone seems to like it,” Caldwell Project Engineer Ken Frazee said. The park will be located off Smeed Parkway north of the Caldwell Industrial Airport.
A YouTube video posted May 30 shows 3-D model shots of the completed design.
The design consists of an 18,000-square-foot plaza area, which features ramps on three sides, various tiered platforms and a large central circle made up of staggered sets of stairs. Behind the plaza is a smaller bowl area and a large sunshade.
Phase I will include the complete plaza along with basic lighting, water fountains, and the sunshade, Frazee said. Phase II will add the bowl area, a sound system, and adjacent landscaped park area for picnicking or watching the action.
Aside from being a great spot for local skaters, the park could draw people from other areas.
“The intent of the skate park was to be a regional Northwest draw for (events like) the X Games competition,” Frazee said.
The design phase cost $59,000, and the construction is expected to cost about $400,000, he said.
The planning and fundraising have been almost completely handled by the Caldwell Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council.
“The council was the primary driving force in the master planning of the park,” Frazee said. “They have been very instrumental in getting the skate park to the point it’s at now.”
Council member Shoni Pegram, 18, said the group made all the planning and funding decisions and handled the contracting of California-based SITE Design Group.
The group of young people planned and budgeted visits to several skateboard parks in the Treasure Valley and beyond, including Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Kuna, Hailey, Ketchum and Burley to get ideas about how they could make Caldwell’s the best.
They interviewed skaters and asked them what they would change about those parks.
“We held town hall meetings and invited the skaters of Caldwell, to ask them what they would want most in a skate park,” Pegram said.
The council then put all the ideas together and came up with several designs, and finally selected a design that made economic sense and that people seemed happy with, she said.
Frazee said Phase I will be funded by private donors, while Phase II will use $199,000 set aside by the city.
Details are still being worked out, he said, but organizers hope construction will begin by mid-July.
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Here's the video:
