A boy rides on the new pump track in Silvis in October. Moline has plans to build a new skatepark/pump track under the new Interstate 74 bridge. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Plans for a new skatepark/pump track under the new Interstate 74 bridge in Moline took a small step forward Tuesday night, Dec. 13. But city officials warn there is much work to do before the park even gets close to reality and hosting skaters and bike riders. During a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday […]
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Plans for a new skatepark/pump track under the new Interstate 74 bridge in Moline took a small step forward Tuesday night, Dec. 13.But city officials warn there is much work to do before the park even gets close to reality and hosting skaters and bike riders.During a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday night, the Moline City Council approved a resolution to have Eric Griffith, the city’s director of parks and recreation, enter into an agreement for the Phase 1 design of the park under the new bridge. The agreement is with New Line Skatepark Inc. for about $82,400.New Lines Skatepark is an internationally renowned, full-service municipal skatepark design and construction team. It has nearly 400 projects and more than 20 years of concrete skatepark experience, according to the company’s website.Tuesday night’s council vote was made without any comments from the council. Before the vote, City Administrator Bob Vitas told aldermen that the resolution will give the city a chance to see a preliminary park design before deciding to perhaps move forward with the project.According to information from the city: “Approving the agreement with New Lines Skate Parks, Inc., does not commit the city to the project beyond preliminary design and the fulfillment of the IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) requirements for a below-the-bridge project. The city has the option to pursue other locations with the preliminary design in the event IDOT does not approve the city licensing request in 2023.”Before Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Griffith told the QCBJ that there will be many more steps in the process. Perhaps the biggest of those will be to get approval from IDOT on the skatepark project. That process could take anywhere from a couple of months to years. Because of that, he doesn’t want to make a guess on when the park might become reality.“Every time I give a timeline (on this project), I’m off by a substantial amount,” he added.The Moline skatepark project – a partnership with Renew Moline and the city’s park and recreation department – has been in the discussion stages for several months.The skatepark project is one piece of a network of potential developments in the works under the new I-74 bridge. On the Bettendorf side of the bridge, that city is helping develop a five-acre Urban Park that will include walkways, new fencing, landscaping and many other features.Moline is also in the midst of a larger redevelopment plan for land around the new bridge. In September, the city announced it had bought the BridgePointe 485 building at 1 Montgomery Drive and seven acres of land in the area for $3.1 million. The property will be used for future riverfront development that could include a mixture of commercial, recreational and residential projects.
