Recent Rain Delays Noise Improvements at Skate Park

It’s getting closer to opening, but for now the Newtown Skate Park remains closed. Recent wet weather has delayed the township's ability to complete enclosures needed to address noise coming from the park.

Officials said Wednesday that the enclosures should be installed this week.

The skate park has been closed since March due to noise complaints from residents of the Tyler Walk community. The township is working to implement noise remedies before it opens. The last step in that process are the installation of enclosures.

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors briefly discussed the situation at its Wednesday meeting.  Supervisor Mike Gallagher said the public should be aware that the park is presently closed. He said it may open "possibly this weekend, but it’s trespassing until then.”

Gallagher said he saw a police officer speaking to somebody near the park, located just off the Bypass behind Staples, prior to the meeting.

The enclosures were anticipated to be finished by this point, but the recent rain has slowed the progress, officials said. They are being installed by the township’s Public Works Department at a cost of approximately $1,000.

If that’s done as planned this week, kids should be able to return to the skate park relatively soon -- possibly as early as this weekend, officials said.

“I think they’re going to hear a sound difference,” said Supervisors Chairman Rob Ciervo, who said he went over to the park to take a preliminary look at the enclosures. He said the transitions at the top of the ramps, which lead to much of the noise when skateboards hit them to turn around, also looked much smoother. He said the work looked about 70 percent complete.   

But even when the work is done and the skate park reopens, it won't be silent for the surrrounding residents.

“Is it going to be no sound? No,” Ciervo said.

Other efforts to address the decibel level included spray foam that was donated by a small business owner. Officials also had a baseline sound test administered to differentiate the amount of noise caused by skating versus nearby traffic.

A preliminary idea was to hold an open skate time once completed for several skateboarders, in order to evaluate how much difference in noise is apparent. That would happen once the enclosures are complete. The board will then be notified and can give a consensus to allow some skating to resume, Newtown Township Manager Joe Czajkowski said.

If all goes well, the park should then be completely re-open for public use.