June 5, 2024
Recently, the City of Lawrence held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the renovation of the skate park in Centennial Park. The $250,000 renovation provided new features that included a four stair; a rainbow rail; several new ledges; a hip; a “slappy” curb; a flow bowl and a “euro” gap.
“The recent additions to the skatepark at Centennial added much needed space to accommodate the growing number of users we’re seeing on a daily basis at the skate park,” said Justin Shiney, skater, member of the Lawrence Skaters Association and owner of River Rat Print & Skate. “It nearly doubled the size of the skateable terrain at the park and includes a variety of obstacles to challenge different skill levels.”
Shiney’s company, River Rat Print & Skate, has teamed up with the City to offer skate lessons in recent years, and he sees the additional features as beneficial for local and regional skaters.
“With the new skate lessons programs through River Rat and Parks and Recreation, there is now more functional space for teaching and learning,” Shiney said. “The finished park design is a creative and different layout from other surrounding skate parks and has become more of a destination for skaters outside of Lawrence.”
Shiney said the relationship between the skater community and the City has been developing in recent years. “I feel the relationship between the City and Skateboarders has been slowly growing to a very positive and progressive place, Shiney said.
“We have crossed through some major hurdles together over the years. For every step back, we’ve managed to take more steps forward. I’d really like to thank our Parks and Recreation Department as a whole for all their support towards skateboarding,” Shiney said.
Shiney and a long-standing group of skaters formed the Lawrence Skaters Association unofficially in 1996 and more formally in 2004 to help create and improve city skate spaces and provide assistance to the City in maintaining and expanding the spaces.
To this end, they honored a fellow skater of the Kansas City-area who passed away after a skating accident in Florida in 2021 by fundraising for a vert ramp that was opened in Centennial Park in May 2022.
While no formal goals have been planned or set for the future, Shiney believes the momentum can continue to build upon what has been done over the past five years. While lights are needed for the vert ramp in Centennial Park and additional obstacles could be added at the DIY skatepark in Edgewood Park, Shiney would like to see a collaboration for a possible indoor facility someday to further skating in Lawrence.
“Personally, I’d like to look further down the line to a whole new progression-style park that would offer more opportunities for advancing skills all the way up to pro level riding,” Shiney said.
For those interested in the skateboard programs offered for those six years-old to 18 years-old, please visit the City of Lawrence Summer Activities Guide at: https://assets.lawrenceks.org/lprd/summer-fall/24/summer24.pdf.