LAND USE A new skate park for Portland? BY SAM PFEIFLE

Some people look at Harbor View Memorial Park at the Southern end of Commercial Street in Portland and see an afterthought. They spent millions on the new Casco Bay Bridge, probably didn’t know what to do with the land underneath it, had a few bucks left over, and put in a park. Or maybe the park was built to fulfill some greenspace quota. It’s not flat enough to make much use of, it’s only fun for sledding and snowboarding in the winter, the parking is hard to find and not very expansive, and that tunnel that runs under the bridge is downright gross — smelling of urine and littered with all manner of debris.

Most people probably drive right by Harbor View Park and never think twice about it on their way to Veterans Bridge and 295.

But people like Eli Cayer and Bob Smyth look at Harbor View Park and see a potential skateboarder/BMX rider/in-line skater paradise. Those hills that urban snowboarders love could make for perfect natural transitions, bowls, and ramps. There’s no pavement they’d have to tear up to make way for smooth concrete. And that tunnel! Can you say all-season riding? Maybe even 360-degree riding?

"We’ve been looking at that space for years," says Cayer, who runs the non-profit MENSK, an organization that puts on events around Portland with the aim of building community bonds. "There could even be a great ‘legal wall,’ " he notes of the opportunity for graffiti writers to have a place to decorate a new park and have a legal space to show off their talents. "You could build a small amphitheater down there and have shows." Cayer and Smyth are full of ideas for the space.

Cayer and Smyth say, too, that the current skatepark down on Marginal Way is both inadequate and poorly placed considering current plans for radically developing the Bayside area into a commercial haven.

"At the Marginal Way park," says Smyth, "the ground’s really rough, and slowly things have been disappearing. The mini-ramp is the best thing about it . . . It’s mostly set up for BMX riding." He says many parks get built by communities without the input of experience skaters, and that leads to some decent obstacles being put in places where skaters can get any flow going, and so the park doesn’t really get used by the people it was theoretically built for.

The pair cite Burnside, a skatepark built "without permission" underneath the Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, as their template. Skaters there simply poured the concrete and made the park happen in an underused part of town, then got the city to sanction it later. "The park that we’re proposing is a piece of art," says Smyth. "We’re going to get skatepark builders who are serious about concrete. Get people who do these sports involved. Get the community excited about it. Maybe have people submit designs, some kind of contest."

Currently Smyth and Cayer are working with Sally DeLuca at Portland Parks and Rec to make their vision happen. DeLuca and the city have another site in mind, over by Douglas Field near Denny’s, which the pair say is "fine," and they’d be happy to use it if that’s the land the city is willing to offer, but they really think Harbor View Park is the place.

"There are engineering hurdles to get over," admits Cayer, "but the ideal place is there because there could be a lot of different ability levels accommodated," and there’s that year-round skating — oh, so desirable.

Cayer and Smyth are raising funds for the park now, and they’d like to get some cash together before they make a more formal presentation to the City Council. They’d also like to get a petition going to show the city that people want this to happen.

"That whole area is kind of a dead zone," Smyth reasons. Who in the city wouldn’t want something useful there? People interested in getting involved can contact Smyth and Cayer at info@mensk.cc. Be on the lookout for fundraising events this summer.