In 2001, Bedford constructed the Bedford NH Skate Park at Earl Legacy Park on New Boston Rd. in an attempt to unite skaters within the community. However, over the past two and a half decades, the skate park has slowly fallen into disrepair with little assistance from the town. What was once meant to be a community staple has now been neglected, fracturing the unity which it was supposed to bring. That’s where the program ‘Rebuild Bedford Skate Park’ comes in.
Rebuild Bedford Skate Park is an effort led by the community to fix or replace the current skate park. To achieve this goal, the program aims to raise awareness about the condition of the skate park, generate funding that can head towards the skate park, and planning/designing what the new revamped skate park would look like. To generate this community support, the program has hosted events around the town and at the skate park that anyone can attend, such as the event they held around Halloween this year where the community could come together to skate, socialize, and win prizes. The program has gotten far enough in their mission to the point where a committee on the town council was formed in order to push for these changes to the skate park in order to receive proper funding.
However, revamping or rebuilding the park would be no simple task. Simply adding new elements to the skate park would already cost thousands of dollars from the town, yet the Rebuild Bedford Skate Park’s goal is a complete rebuild. This reconstruction could cost anywhere from $500k-$1.5M (due to laying new concrete, building new elements, demolition of the original skate park, etc.), which would be a great cost for the town. Besides the resources which would need to go towards this project, there is also the location of the park. The Bedford Skate Park is located right above Earl Legacy Park, a location which is frequently visited by residents of the town for walking the trails, sports practice, and more, whereas a reconstruction of the skate park could close off access points to Legacy for a time. It is also located right next to Riddle Brook Elementary School, where lots of loud construction for an extended period of time could potentially disrupt the learning experience.
Even when challenged with these hurdles, the program stays determined to make change in the community. Through hosting multiple successful events in the past year as well as installing a new rail within the park, they continue to roll forward in their goal. Hopefully, with time, the Rebuild Bedford Skate Park program will be able to receive enough funding and community support to really make a difference to the skate park, bringing unity back to skaters in the community once again.
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