Skateboards have reason to add a few more tricks to their roll in Cambria. California State Parks selected the Cambria Community Services District as one of sixteen projects to proceed with post-selection federal requirements to create a new skatepark facility.
State Parks evaluated more than 79 Land and Water Conservation applications totaling $154 million, for the available $35.6 million in the application cycle. Recommended applicants will proceed with post-selection federal requirements prior to the projects being forwarded to NPS for review and federal funding approval.
“This project [on Main St.] will develop the vacant asphalt lot and adjacent dirt parking area in Cambria into a skatepark facility,” CSD General Manager Matthew McElhenie in a news release. “The site for this project has historical significance to the community as it was the location of the original unpermitted skatepark that served many generations of Cambrians.
“Building a new skatepark at this location will restore a critical public asset and recreational opportunity lost when the old park was removed and is a high priority for the community of Cambria,” McElhenie. “Beyond building a skatepark, this project will create a youth-friendly space in Cambria where people of all backgrounds and skill levels can gather and connect.”
In the Spring of 2020, the unpermitted skatepark was removed due to safety concerns related to the deteriorated condition of the park. Since then, the community and Skate Cambria have been fundraising to build a new skate park.
In 2021, Skate Cambria was formed with a youth run board of directors in place along with a core group of adults with the mission to rebuild the park. They began a capital fundraising campaign with an estimated goal of $650,000. Near the close of that year the wheels really started turning when the Cambria Community Services District, which oversees the land, passed a resolution to commit a total funding amount of $178,000, over the period of three fiscal years, in the amount of $59,333 each year.
Plans for the concrete 6,000 square-feet skatepark are not full of bowls or vert ramps but instead include a mix of street and transition features such as grind boxes and rails that will support skaters with a range of interests and abilities. It will be open to skateboarders, roller skaters, bicyclist, scooter riders, or even specialty wheelchairs. The development will also include constructing a seating section with a shade structure, landscaping, a parking lot, and a restroom stall.
Following National Park Services approval, grantees will participate in a mandatory grant administration workshop, receive grant contracts from State Parks, and begin work to complete their projects, said McElhenie.
