BOUNTIFUL—It’s taken three years but skaters now have a dedicated place to skate in Bountiful. Last week the city cut the ribbon on a new skate park at Washington Park, located at 450 W. 740 South, that was created after Washington Elementary was razed. 

“(Former) Mayor Joe Johnson helped make this happen,” said Bountiful Mayor Kendalyn Harris. “Thanks to the voters in Bountiful City who voted to raise taxes for this (Washington) park. Sterling Rip has been instrumental from the beginning on the skate park.”

The neighbors have been really involved, she said. “They gave input on what they’d like to see here. There’s a trail that goes around the park, six pickleball courts and a skate park. There are no others in any of the parks.”

“I never thought I’d see this happen,” said Rip who spearheaded the effort to bring a skate park to Bountiful. “It’s incredible. When I was 12 my friend’s dad had built one in his backyard. That was always a fun place to skate.”

Rip said he asked Mayor Johnson if he could work on getting a skate park and turn it into an Eagle project somehow. “We started using the ‘pit’ up on Vineyard. There was cement there and we’d use it in the summer. Word got out so people came from all over to skate.”

Every time they’d go back to skate, it would be a pile of rubble, he said. “We rebuilt it four times. I was ready to give up and not skateboard any more. I was really upset about the gap in the community. Enough so that I kept speaking at city council meetings.”

Rip and some other skaters organized a group for a rally at the “pit” in 2020. “We approached the City Manager Gary Hill and Councilmember Kate Bradshaw,” he said. “We made a game plan for a skate park. This was our last hope. We wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t come together.”

“When we realized to what extent they had made improvements to the ‘pit’ we couldn’t allow it to stay,” said Hill. “If we had a flood it wouldn’t be stopped by the retention basin and it could have started a fire. I had public works take it out.”

“I have grandkids who are skaters,” said Johnson. “Nobody wanted them. The skaters would report to the council. It was great dealing with the kids but we didn’t have a spot so we stopped looking.”

Hill said they took down the pit before Washington Park even opened. “The moment we knew we had the option to buy the property from the school district, we knew a skate park was part of those plans.”

“We worked with the designers,” said Rip. “It was cool to get involved in the community. They gave us three options to choose from. It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”

It’s been a journey to integrate skateboarding into the community, Rip said. “When we had a rally at the temporary skate park neighbors were really upset. They didn’t want to understand us. When we tried to share our data they’d just crumple up the paper and throw it on the floor. Those who made an effort to understand us are at peace with the location.”

This kind of project doesn’t work without good neighbors, said Hill. “They’re amazing. We hope to be good neighbors too.” 

Rip is trying to get rid of the stigma of skaters being troublemakers. “It’s creative movement,” he said. “Skating transcends all ages. You see kids giving fist bumps to older skaters. Taggers are not skaters.”

Crowds of skaters lined the park at the opening waiting for their turn to try some tricks. “It’s the largest spot to fit a full size park,” said Rip. “I can tell you we’ll be quieter than the picklers.”