Skate park advocates keeping pressure on Albany City Commission

ALBANY – During the nearly two decades it was in operation, River Skatepark in east Albany brought the community together in a way that crossed racial lines and age barriers, according to skateboarders who want to see it replaced.

With an opportunity to replace the park, which was demolished to make way for construction of a new Oglethorpe Boulevard bridge fording the Flint River, advocates have a vision of making a new skating facility bigger and better.

When the old park was razed in December 2024, area skaters made it a cause and a mission to urge the Albany City Commission to follow through on the replacement, and their determination is still evident.

“It’s more than just a recreational facility, it’s a generational home for my family and many more families in this community,” Jeffrey Ranew told Albany city commissioners this week. “It’s more than just a local need; it’s a need for kids everywhere.”

Ranew’s son Alex Ranew, then 19, started a petition in December 2024 to help keep the heat on city officials not to forget about the skating community.

Enthusiasts also say that the Albany park was a destination not only for Albany skateboarders but for the entire region that is short on such facilities. Outside of Albany, the closest thing to the now-demolished park were located in Columbus and Tallahassee, Fla.

“People in this region of the country do skate,” Jeffrey Ranew said. “We skated the streets of downtown when there was no skate park, and it was a miracle when it was built. Since it was demolished in 2024, we have made trips to Columbus, to Tallahassee.”

In addition to providing a gathering place where skaters, some of whom were able to walk to the location just east of the river, a new park would provide additional benefits, he said. Those include preventing skaters from being injured while pursuing the sport on the streets.

“Studies show it reduces crime,” he said. “We have a problem with violence in Albany. At the end of the day, skate parks give kids a place to call home. It reduces violent crime, so we have to start somewhere.

“I’m just worried a kid is going to get hit (by a car). We want our kids filled with hope and wonder. If we build this, it will be a landmark. They’re going to take pride in that.”

The commission has allocated $1.6 million in funding to a phase 1 of renovations at Tift Park, including funding for a skate park. 

Community advocates for the skate park say they are grateful for the funding but want it to go back to the original location. In addition, they are hoping to add grant funding to the city’s pot of money to make it bigger and perhaps add other attractions like a zip line and kayaking at the site.

One of the requirements for a grant under consideration is returning it back to the original location, Albany skater Adam Inyang said

“Let’s actually make it somewhere that’s a tourist attraction for Albany,” Inyang said. 

As of Thursday, Alex Ranew’s Change.org petition urging leaders to replace the east Albany park had received 2,062 signatures.

The recent appearance before commissioners was meant to urge them to establish a new park at the original location and to have plans ready to get moving as soon as the site is cleared after bridge construction is complete, Jeffrey Ranew said. 

Advocates have been working with groups including the Tony Hawk Foundation and park design/build company Grindline Skateparks and have been in contact with federal officials to discuss grant funding.

A final justification for the park is the economic impact it could generate from visitors who live outside of Albany, Ranew said. The project would bring in a significant amount of revenue for the community, and companies looking to locate to a city also consider recreational opportunities for employees.

“Let’s have people coming in shopping, staying at our hotels,” he said. “Let’s bring people in here, and what’s more than that, let’s have people move here.”