Teen skateboarder petitions to rebuild demolished River Skatepark

ALBANY, Ga. – This lot behind me used to be the only dedicated skatepark in southwest Georgia. And, one group is pleading with Albany leadership about rebuilding it.

Alex Ranew is a 19-year-old who loves skateboarding more than anything…

“I started skateboarding at the age of 15. It was a big hobby for me and one of the first things I started doing really as a kid getting into. You know, I met many of my friends, acquaintances, a lot of people out here at the skatepark and in town skateboarding. So, it’s really important to a lot of people,” said Alex Ranew, organizer, Bring Back Albany’s Skatepark.

So, to hear that the skate park on East Oglethorpe Boulevard just past the bridge was being removed for a construction crew for the Oglethorpe Bridge project, he knew he had to mobilize.

“It was one of the largest skate parks in the area, if not the best skate park in the area. The only other area really to skate right now is Macon, Georgia, which is over an hour and a half away and not accessible to a lot of residents and people around. There’s one other park, but it’s in a state of disrepair well beyond what the park here was,” said Ranew.

That’s why Alex has been rallying people both in-person and with a petition online to try and bring back the skatepark.

“We’re trying to get the city to back us, you know, in bringing back our skate park as it was destroyed. And, it was a very monumental part of this community. Some could even argue the most unique features within the city. There’s not there’s nothing quite like it around in the area,” said Ranew.

And… he’s hoping that the city will work with them to build a fully new skatepark, now that it looks like the ball is in their court.

“Now that the city seems interested in, you know, helping get us our skate park back, you know, the next steps are, you know, to find a location and, you know, figure out how we’re going to get this constructed and keep on going,” said Ranew.

While the city looks to work with the group on bringing back the skatepark, skaters like Alex are hoping to have a place to bring back that sense of community they had on their boards.

And… if you’re interested in learning more about Alex’s cause, you can find the link to the petition here https://www.change.org/p/rebuild-albany-s-skatepark-wrongfully-demolished

Brian Roche reporting.

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