Lyon recently saw the acquisition of two new concrete bowls on the renovated banks of the Rhone River that runs through the centre of town.
As Crossfire mentioned in previous news, the project to get a skatepark built on the riverbank has been an arduous and heavily debated project, but finally the city gave the green light.
However, the architects and builders responsible for the peanut-shaped transitions were not skateboarders (you can see where this is heading…), so a replica of Marseille this is NOT. The coping hardly peeks out of the edges, and the angles have you safely below the speed limit. Despite these set backs, the bowls are free, in a safe area and good for beginners. The bigger bowl is approximately 2 meters deep, whilst the smaller version connected by a spine sits at a shallow 1m 50.
There are plans to have a ‘street park’ area built next to the bowls, but so far the designs have been deplorable. Local skaters are currently trying to get the designs fixed, but city officials usually follow the thought that whatever costs more must be better, and we all know who takes advantage of that naivety.
Hope is around the corner though, with skatepark designers and all around skate addicts, the Syndrom USSR cooperative, have placed a bid to try and get something done. This band of merry men from Marseille, have several successful skateparks designed and built throughout France, with new projects aimed for Bourgoin Jailleu, Annecy and a specially commissioned bowl for Carhartt in Hossegor.
Let this be a lesson to get involved and follow every step of the conception and creation of future skateparks wherever you live.