BRIDGEPORT — Crews said Monday they will flatten an unlicensed skate park under a state highway in Bridgeport after Southsiders tried for months to meet to advocate for its preservation. Worked quickly.
Bulldozers toppled a community skate park (known as “Irish Banks”) located on the Stevenson Expressway underpass where it intersects with South Loomis Street around 9 a.m. Monday. As local skaters watched, Illinois Department of Transportation staff removed the last debris from the 20,000-pound concrete quarterpipe that the skaters poured themselves.
In May, IDOT posted no-trespassing signs on the property and sealed it off with orange plastic fencing. Seeking “forgiveness and permission,” the South Side skaters enlisted the help of two local officials to meet with IDOT leaders to approve the site as a city park.
A petition called ‘Save Ireland’s banks’ has attracted donations from the community and has around 3,000 signatures.
But within hours of being demolished Monday morning, the skate park was unrecognizable. There were no meetings scheduled and no advance notice from IDOT, skater Ty Santoor told Block Club.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Santor said as he rummaged through the rubble for steel. “Every concern they might have had about safety, any precedent, we have an answer. We wanted to convey that to those in power…and apparently they’re trying to prove their point. It seems like he did it for the sake of it.”
Skating at and helping build Irish Banks, a DIY skate park built on IDOT property under the I-55 freeway on Loomis Street north of Archer Avenue in Bridgeport on July 26, 2024 Some skaters. Credit: Colin Boyle / Block Club Chicago Tie Santor and Kayden Slovacek mourn the demolition of Irish Banks Skatepark on September 16, 2024. Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago
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Tucked away beneath a cavernous highway, this small skatepark once had nothing but graffiti and trash, but now features spine ramps, quarter pipes, a unique “snake curve,” and other obstacles. Santor and his friends began construction in April at a cost of about $6,000. 2023.
IDOT officials, who did not want to be named due to department rules, did their best Monday to comfort the skaters mourning at the scene.
“If it were me, I would have left it as is,” the employee said. “Skateparks have prevented shenanigans from happening here.”
IDOT spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said in a statement that the park does not have a permit and risks liability.
“The department was not given the opportunity to review the plan to examine the potential impacts to the safety and integrity of existing structures beneath the interstate,” Castaneda said. “No government agency or municipality has taken responsibility for the future maintenance and safety of the area. Allowing unauthorized development or installations along the state’s right-of-way creates a risk of significant liability for the state. , the public is at risk. We have conveyed these concerns to local elected officials.”
State Rep. Theresa Marr asked IDOT to postpone the previous demolition date as she tried to broker a meeting between officials and skaters. Aldo. Nicole Lee (11th place) also cheered from the back of the skate park and said she might “try” scootering.
Maher said Monday that he knew “nothing” about the demolition, despite ongoing discussions with IDOT.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed. I would have liked them to have a more fruitful conversation to find some kind of solution,” Marr said. “I support the skate park initiative and love the possibilities and recreational opportunities it provides for young people. This was a positive initiative by local volunteers.”
Irish Banks, a DIY skate park built on IDOT property under the I-55 freeway on Loomis Street north of Archer Avenue in Bridgeport on July 26, 2024. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoIDOT employees take away the last piece of debris that was part of a community skate park project in Bridgeport on September 16, 2024. Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago
Skater Kayden Slovacek says word of mouth about Irish Banks’ ingenious obstacle (drawn on a napkin before actually securing it) has inspired pro skaters from around the country and others to try out skateboarding. He said it fascinated the children in the neighborhood.
After IDOT issued warning signs, Slovacek’s staff halted construction, but if the skate park was allowed to remain, the skaters hoped to build more facilities under the umbrella of a new nonprofit organization.
“We put Southside on the map for DIY skating,” Slovacek said, fighting back tears as his arm was in a cast. “What hundreds of us enjoyed from dawn to dusk was reduced to rubble within hours after months of work.”
Marr said he will continue to lobby IDOT to allow park districts to use the skate park, similar to the model that formally built the skate park under the state-run Kennedy Expressway in Logan Square. But “the crux of the problem” was that the Logan Square skate park, unlike Irish Bank, had “movable structures”, Mr Marr said.
“IDOT told me that because of the liability issues, I didn’t have permission from them to put the skate park there in the first place, and I can’t approve it, so I can’t set a precedent.” Mr. Ma said. “They refused to even consider the possibility of delaying the demolition until the park district process was completed.”
In a statement filed Wednesday, park district spokeswoman Eileen Tostado said the agency has no interest in allowing a second act at the former skate park.
“The park district does not own this land and this is not a project the park district is pursuing,” Tostado said. “The park district did not seek permission for the space, which is not part of our inventory, and was not aware that a skate park was being built.”
The Logan Square skate park has fallen into severe disrepair in recent years, and skaters have raised $710,000 for a restoration project that has been blocked by government agencies.
Santor said skater advocates are navigating a bureaucratic maze and facing a litigation department led by “people who probably have zero knowledge of skateboarding.”
“All they’re seeing is that you can get hurt skateboarding,” Santor said. “It’s hard to tell people what this place means.”
Skaters will soon perform a ceremonial old style at the old skate park, Santor said.
“If this was going to happen, I wish I could have come down there one last time and skated there,” he said.
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