Those of you left still holding your breath can take a giant inhale. Sam from SkateOregon just got off the phone with a real life Portland Parks & Recreation representative who confirmed the fences are coming down, and Ed Benedict is officially open tomorrow, Saturday, February 7th. An formal ceremony may or may not come at a later date. It’s Portland’s first street plaza, so you have to believe there will be some sort of recognition. I wonder if our beleaguered Mayor will attend?
Free Cold War 7.75″ Strike deck to the first person to send me photo or video proof of any kickflip variation over the snake river gap! No joke. It has to be new proof, not something poached from when the fences were up. I’ll judge “first” by the order it reaches my inbox. May the best man (probably not old) win! UPDATE: We have a winner. Clip coming soon.
– Thanks to Sam for the tip!
78 comments
Kilwag
I guess nobody cares.
marek
you got that right. i care only if theres a chance to have a bowl. however im entering your flippity contest thus wasting one of my precious and rare five scheduled landed kickflips per year. you happy now?
Mac
There’s a street plaza in Portland?
bk
I skated there this afternoon amongst a sea of kids. The fences were already down. Overall the park is well built and will surely be one of the more popular Portland skateparks. The mini ramp section is topped with smooth concrete coping blocks and is super fun. Too bad there are no decks. Get out there and get on it.
One fish in the school
Opening day is the best! The more the merrier.
Sgt. Slaughter
Join my peg-regulating vigilante group! Even though good BMX behavior at Gabriel gives me hope, I still worry about all of those concrete edges.
t-roy
Some of those curbs have like 2ft of vert.
Casey M.
No one got a kickflip over the launcher yet? Damn, I should have gone over there instead of Burnside this morning!
Welsh Pete
No kickflip over the kicker but my 30+ year old knees did ollie before noon on a February morning. That should be worth something…. Super fun park.
Mac
It was packed today. Everyone looked like they were really digging the park. I had a couple of suggestions that I’ll also put over at SPS:
1) More trash cans needed, and on both sides. There was already crap all over the place and not nearly enough places to put it.
2) Bikes will be more of a problem here than other parks due to damage potential and speed/flow/collisions. If there’s going to be an overall bikes-allowed policy at our parks, this one should be the exception. They may just not like it. The Glenhaven pack showed up when I was there and left after a couple of minutes. They were severely outnumbered, and it just wasn’t working.
I’ll be curious to hear what the kids think about it. It’s not really my terrain, but it looked successful to me. I can’t wait to hit it when it’s less crowded and I can stay out of people’s way.
colin
i didn’t skate but went and checked it out. the coping on the mini part looks brutal
Fitz
Great park. Looking forward to a weekday session when the crowds are gone. It got busy fast this morning.
Will Jones
prolly gonna be skated more then every other park
Asian D
Skated the park about a week ago and thought good things of it. Every ledge that wasnt granite was sticky but mainly because of no wax/wear and tear. This park will be good for the upcoming season but i must say, Portland Parks and Rec really must consider an “all around” (not just bowl or street) that is covered! Dont get me wrong, DOS is fun, but i want some good old concrete that doesnt get wet. Out of the 19 parks that are slated will one of these building teams put into account the rain in the NW. They would be getting a lot of recognition for the first covered Oregon concrete park.
Fitz
Lincoln City II is covered…
conahan
The Ed Benedict miniramp is open! Southeast needed a concrete mini with pool coping. Where did that coping come from by the way? It seems very hard and slick. They also set the coping so it sticks out a lot. It would have been nice to have a little more flat and maybe some decks. It’s also a pain that people have to walk and bicycle through the middle of the session to get into the skatepark. It is a fun mini you’re in the neighborhood.
colin
Conahan,
I noticed you weren’t wearing your helmet.. did you want to discuss this?
Rich
MC minus lid at Ed Benedict: Click Here
bk
The coping at Eggs Benedict is CA Skatepark’s own product. It is smooth and solid and grinds like butter, but I still favor Phil Tedder’s local recipe. http://www.tedderstone.com/
conahan
I must have been inebriated.
colin
i also saw you were riding a cold war board. acquisition discussions?
conahan
I’m riding Cold War now. My current ride is the Mike Swim The Finisher guest shape. 9″ wide, rounded nose and tail, 14.5″ wheelbase. Big for that miniramp but I’m really liking it for the big bowls.
Fitz
The tranny section is cool, though it seems like some sort of after-thought. Then again, who’s heading there with tranny skating in mind?
colin
me!
Kilwag
Total afterthought, almost didn’t get built. I heard they submitted it as part of the design but said it was not included in the original budget. Still, it’s nice that it’s there. It’s a street plaza after all.
Fitz
I’m stoked it’s there. Nice variety, and the hip seems like it’ll be a heavily used obstacle.
colin
again haven’t had a chance to full check it out, but the whole thing looks fucking sweet… so nervous about that kicker though
chad bluffska
The Ed bendict plaza is definitely one of the sickest places to skate and long over due with all the parks being built! Everyone involved is owed a big thank you! The only problem with this park like mention up above is going to be the bikes. Now bikes aren’t allowed at ed benedict and can even be cited a ticket. So it’s up to us fellow skaters to look after this amazing skate spot and protect it from bike pegs!!!!! If your at the plaza and see bikers nicely explain to them they can’t ride there bikes there and that bikes ruin the ledges. make sure to clean up after yourself and throw trash away in the trashcan.
conahan
Are you sure about the bikes? I didn’t see a rules sign on Saturday. It’s my understanding that all the Portland public facilities will be open to everyone, although there is a no-pegs rule at Glenhaven.
chad bluffska
YES Mr. Conahan the signs haven’t been quite put up yet, but I assure you there’s no bikes at the plaza. Ed benedict is one of the ONLY PLACES THAT’S THERE’S NO BIKES!!! AND CAN BE CITED A TICKET!!! So make sure and you do your part in a friendly way to self police the bikes and razor scooters out of the plaza. I would say rollerblades too but for some reason I think they might be allowed. NOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THIS AWSOME PLACE TO SKATE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BIKES DON’T FUCK THIS PLACE UP! ONCE THOSE LEDGES START CHIPPING FROM BIKE PEGS THE LEDGES AND POOL COPING IS GOING TO BE DONE!! DO YOUR PART!
Kilwag
Wow, the 50 guys on bikes that I saw there are going to be bummed.
Welsh Pete
What harm are the kids on razor scooters? Let ’em ride, I say. They’ll figure out the superiority of the skateboard soon enough.
Welsh Pete
Oh yeah and major thanks to SPS and everyone involved. The diversity of terrain we now have is amazing.
chad bluffska
OH why I remember some bleachers or some kind of seating would be nice so there’s somewhere to sit other then on the LEDGES WE SKATE! It’s great that people come to the plaza to skate, watch their kids skate or even just come hang out and eat lunch. With nowhere to sit kids and parents just end up sitting right on what we worked so hard to get to SKATE! That way me and everyone else trying to skate wouldn’t have to ask you nicely to move every other try due to you probably just not knowing any better and that there’s nowhere for you to sit other then the 15ft marble ledge that me and everyone else wants to skate. So yeah some kind of seating and like mentioned up above earlier more trash cans
chad bluffska
IF you want to razor scooter go to battle ground I’m sure the high school jocks on razor scooters out there would love you! NO RAZOR SCOOTERS BECAUSE RAZOR SCOOTERS ARE WACK AS SHIT AND IT’S A FUCKING SKATE PLAZA. Not to mention running into little kids not knowing what the fuck they are doing and kneeing the front of their razor bar with your knee doesn’t feel any better then running into a bike. This happen to me on last sat while trying to avoid not smashing into one razor scooter little kid only to smash into another with my knee bashing into there razor handle bars.
curtis
the scooters can harm the park just like the pegs on bikes. most of the parks I go to the scooter kids are like the ones chad is talking about. but in richland the scooter kids are cigarett smokin’ thugs who would kick my ass if I told them to leave. you gotta watch your head cos they do prity big transfers whipping that thing arround like a sword. i don’t think they are going to switch to skateboards anytime soon.
chad bluffska
THUGS ON SCOOTERS, HAAHAHAHAHAHAHA THAT WOULD BE FUNNY TO SEE. THAT’S PRETTY THUG IF YOU ASK ME. DON’T FORGET YOUR ICE SON WHEN WHIPPING THOSE RAZORS AROUND
Welsh Pete
Ah, I love scooters. Its sick when those youngsters leap down shit on those things. They’re mostly pre-teen dudes, a little overweight and unsure of themselves sure, but they’re trying… and they’re not at home watching RedTube.
And, you can’t convince me a scooter does more damage than a barney on 169s…
Let the scootz ride and the Heelies.
Scooter Liberation front
We ain’t playin’
curtis
for real. the kids I’m talkin’ about are straight up teens with tobacco habits who do bigger airs than any skater there. here’s a quote I overheard from about a week ago: “aww maaan, my parents are gonna send me to re-hab”. these kids don’t damage the richland park with all it’s metal copping and metal ledge edges, but they have all kinds of grinding tricks that you might not want to see at ed benedict.
chad bluffska
Aw it’s okay if you ride a razor Pete Walsh! I think your boys at battle ground miss you. They where asking about you and where you been.
chad bluffska
Bigger airs then any skater huh. The kids skating there must suck at airs then!
Stay Gold
No.. the skaters there are amazing its just the scooter kids are freakin insane, and airing on a scooter is easier
Welsh Pete
Thanks Chad, I love how open-minded we grown men on skateboards really are. What a wonderful accepting community skateboarding is.
Go to Livi or Stockwell or any other skatepark outside of crybaby Portland, and try banning scoots, bikes, graff etc…
Big tough guys on skateboards, here in PDX, innit?
Rich
I sure hope there are no tickets of any kind given to folks respectfully riding at a facility. It seems to work better when the riders work together to deal with any issues. Let the riders at the park sort it out and let law enforcement work on real issues. Respectful folks riding the park are not criminals and it seems such a waste of everyones time to even expect a law enforcement presence. Shred on people.
Welsh Pete
Well said Rich. Let’s not go running to Johnny Law over a few kids getting a bit of exercise and fresh air in public space. In the big scheme of things, is a razorscoot really any more ridiculous than a skateboard?
Kilwag
Barneys on 169’s causing damage? How, by carving around and standing on the decks chewing the fat?
Welsh Pete
Nah mate, us barneys are ruining the coping on the tranny section by scratching it up with our trucks. And we’re dirtying up the flatbottom with outlandish powerslides on our too soft OJ II street razors.
curtis
there’s always some prity good skaters at richland, and since the weather is better than anywhere else in the northwest, you see carloads of skaters from other places comming through. the facts remain that there is a group of scooter kids going big.
Fitz
Banning street razors? Are you fucking kidding me?
Who gives a flying a shit what those kids are riding–they’re children. You want to to ban them because “they’re whack?”
What are you, the trend police? Maybe you should ban me. Of course I’m riding a skateboard, but I’m probably not the correct jeans, or the right t-shirt.
Scooter damage! Now I’ve heard it all. Remember, in the eyes of everyone outside this pathetic little self-inflated world, skaters, bikers, bladers and razors are the same thing. All the powers that be will hear is complaining, and it’ll be the complainer they tire of first.
I assume you’re a grown man? Find something else to worry about!
Kilwag
I vote we ban tail domes and nose guards.
Fitz
Whenever I see some self-inflated egotripper trying to police a park, I think “what if that was my kid they’re harrassing?”
Then I get really, really pissed. While my boy and girl will probably wind up skating, there’s every chance they’ll want to play with other toys–that’s what skateboards are when your still too young to get caught up in some stupid scene.
In fact, I’m going to let them explore any avenue their sweet little hearts desire, and heaven help anyone who decides to tell them otherwise.
If they wanna bust out and razor the park, cool by me. All I will teach them is ettiquette.
Fitz
Now, I’ve been up all night trucking around the Olympic Penninsula in the snow and ice, and I’m tired, pissy and I’m going to bed.
colin
the only issue i have with something other than a skateboard is getting my block knocked off. the only thing that can do that to me would be a bike.
curtis
I’m defenetly with you Fitz (but i would not be so certain your kid’s will follow your footsteps). so it’s good you’ll let them do their own thing. I made the comment that I thought scooters could do dammage, but really it’s only if the riders have the skill to do ledge bashing tricks. but the bottom line is that if grinding and such were not destuctive we probably would not have as many parks as we do now. the parks are there for us to wear them down. the bmxr’s seem sort of lazy to me cos they can go make stuff out of dirt to ride.
I kicked some kids out of the bowl in Kettle Falls for dorking arround with a old metal wheelchair (mostly because they were in my way) and I thought their crashing the chair repetedly could mar the perfect surface that I hold so dear to my heart. but other than that I live and let live, on my 169’s, beside my heely kid.
conahan
Don’t worry about a confrontation with a scooter, they always fold. Haw!
Fitz
Thanks for a thoughtful reply Curtis. Skaters these days are lost in groupthink, and it’s refreshing to come across somebody who’s able to seperate themselves from skateboarding long enough to attain some objectivity.
Dave
objectivity?…skate and destroy dude!
egbert
# colin Says:
February 11th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
the only issue i have with something other than a skateboard is getting my block knocked off. the only thing that can do that to me would be a bike.
And don’t forget, in addition to the bike, any girl over the age of 9 years old.
Biker
i will be at egg bendadick on my bike soon cant wait to see everybody there
Rollerblader
And I will be there on my rollerblades, cant wait to see everybody, too! mu-muah-muahahahahaha
Surfer
And I will be there on my surfboard,cant wait to see everyone! ahahahahahaha
Snowboarder
And I, as well, will be there and cant wait to see everyone,also. bro.
Pokerplayer
And I, I will be there with my wits,and deck of cards!
Cant wait…….hoohaha
Interpretive Dancer
And I concur with the others on the topic of being there and eager to see everyone…watch me dance my story to aaaaaaallllll!
Bumble Bee Guy
Tambien me gusta Benidicto Ed Parque,y no puede esperar al la “Bee there”!
ibikepier
Yo dudes! I ride bikes and I’ve helped by donating money to the opening of this park with other fellow bikers so why shouldn’t bikes be allowed? The only good reason is bikes tearing up ledges with there pegs. I will agree that bikes do chip ledges only if you don’t know what your doing. if I see some random kid trying to grind on something and he’s tearing the shit up I’d. Tell him the same thing you would. I believe bikes should be able to ride the same shit skaters are riding and if there is some biker/skater disrespecting a park they should be dealt with not banned from a park that we all helped open.
skaterhusseindave
I wonder why there aren’t more (or is it any?) bikepark construction companies run by bikers, and building bike only facilities. I’m afraid it’s because it’s easier to continue the 30+ year tradition of following skateboarders around and copying what we do. “Dude, this golf course is the PERFECT place for me and my friends to ride our ATVs. It’s a public course,it’s unconstitutional to ban us!”
Quit being lazy and get your own game – if you donate $ to a skatepark,that should entitle you to riding a skateboard in it…
adsasddsa
fuck yeah thats whats up i’m tired of scooter/fruitbooter/bike kids having a sense of entitlement and blowing up the parks that skaters worked hard for and then being dicks when you tell them to get out
street,vert, and dirt
I don’t seem to get many complaints from many of the skaters where I BMX. They try to stay out of my way and I try to stay out of theirs, the “terf war,” so to speak, between all the different people using the skate parks is really getting old. Yes I would agree that skaters have worked hard time and time again to get parks built, but that doesn’t mean that you should block them off from the rest of the extreme sports community.I’m sure that if us “biker kids” had an insane park built skaters would show up and want to skate on it.Either way the “skaters hate everyone that doesn’t ride a skateboard” thing is getting old.
skaterdave
It’s not hatred of bikes. It’s love of skateboards. Do your own thing somewhere else and there’s no problem. Build an insane bike park and I’ll come ride a bike in it. There’s no such thing as the extreme sports community, that’s marketing garbage for TV.
parkour runner
This place is the perfect place to perfect my parkour skills. I cant wait to see you guys there.
kody
this crap pisses me off you all think scooterers are fags or fat people or little kids that dont know what the hell they are doing
YES WE DO!! it is actualy a freaking sport look us up on youtube we do actually ride for the same reasons as skaters skate and bikers bike why arnt we allowed?? thats stupid its all because of the little kids all you have to do is make and age limit of like 10 and up
look us up if you dont belive here are some names to look up….terry price,coedie donavan,kc corning jerret ried ,jesse macaluso, kody geiger,kieth zadig…we do scoot for a reason just like skaters and bikers. so why do you have to take away are sport ..thers no were else for us to go???
Kilwag
Kody – that’s a joke, right? A sport? Well OK, but whining about isn’t going to get you any respect. I suggest you start Scooter and Annoy, or Scoot Daily, or maybe band together with the bladers, who also don’t get any respect. Just don’t expect any sympathy here.
curtis
kody, I think most of us are ok with the scooters. I think the scooter riders who have kept up with their craft have the ability to damage the cement parts of skateparks. thats sort of cool with me because skateparks are meant to be worn down. most scooter riders are just innocent little kids having fun, and most of us agree that’s cool. as far as the bmx’rs are concerned we think they are lazy leaches because they can “do it in the dirt. when the fall or smash their pegs on OUR parks they can chip the surface. these chips won’t stop you or affect the bmx’rs. but it can drasticly affect the ride of a skateboard. so you don’t give a shit about the smoothness skateparks surface. why do you think they call them skateparks? because they are designed for skatebording. not scooter riding or bike riding etc. we tollerate you people in our scene enough.
I don’t need to look up you on youtube, I see kick ass scooter riding all the time. and if being on youtube makes it a “sport” then I suggest you check out “ropeboarding”.
I’m not defending ed benidict from bikes and scooters, because if I go to Portland to skate that is the only park I might skip. and from the sound of it, alot of the skaters that make comments on this website, would appriciate it if some serious scooter riders (like the ones I mentioned above) would show up and shave off an inch of the coping in the mini ramp part.
you recomended some names on you tube, is there a site like skate and annoy for scooter riders? I’d be stoked to “troll” that!
street,vert, and dirt
I do agree that our pegs can jack the hell out of “your” parks, and it annoys the hell out of me when im skating and a chip in the concrete throws me off my board. It’s the irresponsible BMX’ers that you should target. When me and my friends ride concrete parks that skaters occupy, we bring some spakel and if we chip the concrete we just fill it in and flaten it out so its flesh with the concrete.
curtis
ok, so today it’s raining on my skatepark parade, i’ve got some time to kill so I decided for shits and giggles to watch youtube and see the riders Kody recomended. most of them are prity good at there thing. the ripping scooter riders I see are at this level or close to it (though I haven’t seen them do handplants yet, so I’ll suggest it to them). I occasionaly see the flip, but have yet to see the double flip.
if anyone does not think scooters can do dammage check out “coedie donovan punk scooters”. that kid rips but is a fucking dick head who would FULLY hear about it from me. he does not deserve to treat OUR public spaces that way. some one should seriously kick his ass for his whoosie ass tantrums. you wanna trash the park that is cool, but do it on your ride of choice.
and the kids on the 4 wheelers are in no way convincing. un impressed, but they can ride at my park anytime. if they want to ride skateboards they should take that handel bar off, it restricts their potential.
Stay Gold
Cant wait to skate this park looks like there are some buttery ass handrails