Zelienople Memorial Skatepark open to the public
Last July, Amy Barkley sat on a bench in Zelienople's Community Park and observed the groundbreaking for a skatepark that honored her husband's late son and two of his friends.
She said she wanted to come back in two years and see “a bunch of new kids that we don't know skating.”
Now, nearly a year after ground was broken, Barkley has the chance to see it in use. She said she goes to the park frequently to watch skaters and bikers using it. The other evening, she saw a 7-year-old riding a new bike in there with his father — an apropos use of the space, she thought.
While it is yet to be officially dedicated, Zelienople Memorial Skatepark — called the “for-the-dream park” by a number of attendees due to its motto — is now open to the public.
Borough manager Don Pepe said some attendees had, before it opened, climbed over construction fences to make use of the decade-long project that stemmed from a senior project by Trevor Barkley who, along with his friends Sam Bucci and Elijah Lunsford, died in a 2010 vehicle accident.
“Considering the fact it was physically done, we wanted it to be open and ... they were there anyway,” Pepe said. “We wanted to take the construction fences down and let them in there. I'm glad it's done, I'm glad it's being used.”
This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read more.
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