With permission from the City of Madison, a group of skating enthusiasts have constructed a new skatepark called the Lily Pad on Madison’s North side.
The Madison Skatepark Fund was formed by skating enthusiasts in 2001 when it began petitioning the state for money and space to build Madison’s first skatepark — the Goodman Skate Park. What sets the new park apart is that it was constructed entirely by volunteers, Madison Skatepark Fund Founder Patrick Hasburgh said.
“The two parks are very different,” Hasburgh said. “Goodman was mostly done through contracting and it cost a total of 1.2 million dollars. The North Side park was just a piece of land from torn-down bleacher pads that was all done by volunteers.”
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Another difference between Goodman and the Lily Pad is the latter is an “all-wheels park,” meaning there are features cyclists and roller skaters can use — not just skateboarders. The Lily Pad, which is located in Warner Park, only needed $5,000 in donations to build, Hasburg said.
When the City of Madison finished the Goodman Skate Park in 2015, it became known as one of the best skateparks in the region, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Skating in public streets in Wisconsin is illegal under Wisconsin state statute, which District 8 Ald. Juliana Bennett said does more harm than good.
“It creates a situation where it becomes less safe to skate, where we don’t have a designated area,” Bennett said. “People are like fine, ‘I’ll just skate in the street.’ I think by banning skating, it makes it less safe.”
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But as far as she knows, the Madison Police Department and University of Wisconsin Police Department don’t actively enforce the statute against skating, Bennett said.
UW junior Miguel De Villa said he goes to Goodman Skate Park around once a month, but because it’s a couple miles from campus, he can’t go as often as he would like.
De Villa said skating helped him with his mental health during the pandemic and is a large part of what he likes about Madison.
“I think it makes the whole city, in general, more interesting,” De Villa said. “Now, I always look around and think that’s a cool spot, I should go there sometime.”
Bennet said she has not heard of any plans to build a skatepark near the UW campus.
Personally, Bennet said skating has been a great way for her to get to know Madison better.
“Skating is a great opportunity to socialize and get to know other people in the area, that aren’t only interested in skating but have different backgrounds than you,” Bennet said. “It’s a really great social experience.”
