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Skaters, cyclists and more turn out for upgraded LH skate park opening

By LAURA JAMESON ljameson@lockhaven.com 4 min read

LOCK HAVEN – Hoberman Park was the place to be on a beautiful sunny Thursday as members of the community celebrated the official opening of Lock Haven’s upgraded skate park.

"What an outstanding turnout! We couldn't have asked for anything better," City Planner Abbey Roberts said.

Roberts, on behalf of the city, thanked everyone for attending and noted the skate park would be hosting its first-ever Action Sports event on Saturday.

"We're very excited about that," she said.

Roberts further thanked everyone who took part in the surveys and public meetings regarding the design of the skate park. She also thanked the multitude of contractors and others involved in construction; and the Department of Community and Economic Development for fully funding the project.

Madra Clay, Central Regional Director for DCED, offered her own comments about the department's role in the park.

"The department is pleased to partner with the City of Lock Haven in helping to build this skate park to enhance the park overall and to add to the overall community benefit," Clay said.

Clay stressed how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people viewed public spaces such as Hoberman Park and its skate park.

"Many more community members want access to outdoor recreation," she said. "After being told to stay inside and stay away from people, outdoor recreational opportunities became vital to our mental health and our overall physical well being."

Clay commended the city's leadership for its direction in improving its parks for the community.

"The City of Lock Haven and its leadership have done a really good job at taking advantage of all the resources that are available to make this community a place where people want to live and work," she said.

Mayor Joel Long spoke about watching the park transform since it first opened in the early 2000s.

"This is exciting isn't it. It's especially exciting for me, I was here when we built the first skate park. That all happened because there were some kids digging in the dirt over here making ramps so they could ride their bikes," Long said. "They came to us and said they wanted a place to ride their bikes and skateboard and scooters."

Long said after the park was first built he would check on how the kids were doing and remind them to keep the place clean and orderly.

During one of these visits he was asked why the skate park was built.

"Because it's for you. Because we want you to have something to do, something you enjoy. If you guys take care of this maybe we can do more and expand," he said.

And now, over a decade later, Long said he recognized some of the kids from back then in attendance of the ribbon cutting.

"Here we are, something that's easily 10 times more, at least, than what we spent on the first part. Some of these kids and the adults here, I watched some of those people do tricks down here when they were 13 and now they're back to do it again," he said.

Following Long's comments, Director of Community Life Kasey Campbell gave out two scooters, a skateboard and bike and helmets – donated by Walmart of Mill Hall – and a gift basket courtesy of Main Street Books, which also sells skateboard supplies.

Soon enough, the skaters, cyclists and scooter riders were asked to split the ribbon. With local officials and partners in the project holding it on either end, the riders ripped through it – marking the official opening of the upgraded park.

Roberts noted the rest of Hoberman Park would see upgrades in 2024.

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