The Skateparks of Chicopee - Part III (River North)

For the third installment, we will take a look at the smallest park of the bunch, and make a return to the good ol' gray plastic ledges and metal ramps ala Sara Jane.

River North Skatepark

Broadway Street

Besides a few ledges on the other side of the pyramid, these first 2 pictures pretty much sum up this park. It is definitely a tight setup but they've at least managed to stick a decent amount of things to skate considering what they had to work with. This also somehow manages to be the most populated out of the five skateparks - as in, there are usually other people here when I go. I mean, usually it's a 5-year old throwing his scooter around while Dad sits on a ramp texting, or a family of six using the bank as a slide, but it's also common to see actual skatepark enthusiasts - even skateboarders! The main attraction I suppose is the pyramid, if for no other reasons, it's smack in the middle and takes up a bulk of the park.

The pyramid itself is metal and about 2' high, with a 4-stair and handrail on one side, and a plastic, usually EXTRA waxy hubba ledge on the opposite side that is about a foot in height. The handrail is shorter than one you'd usually find at a street spot, and also quite small lengthwise too, making it kinda hard to do anything but tap it via grind or slide. Which is a good and bad thing. The box sitting at the top of the stairs is movable, so in this photo we have a cool example of the many different setups possible with it. The box is identical to the ones you'll find at Sara Jane, plastic, waxy, about a foot high. 

Allowing for some sense of "flow" we have these on either side of the pyramid:

Both are metal and about 4' in height. The quarter pipe is nice - smooth, good width, decent transition and coping. Definitely beats out Sara Jane in this category. The bank is good too, just a little on the steep side which is appreciated.

Off to the sides you only have a few ledges and rails, but they are mostly worthwhile at least. You've got 2 waxy, narrow benches that are a little over a foot in height and a ledge that is close to the same in size, but portable:

For rails, the highlight for me is definitely this killer round rail:

Just so simple, ya know? It's like 10" high, and just…a straight-up rail. No crazy curves, loops, slants, spikes, what have you. The other rail gets a little crazy:

Slants in the middle of flat rails - maybe one of the most frightening sights a skatepark can offer. The shorter half is about 10" high, while the taller half is probably around 16" or so.

That about does it for ol' River North I suppose. The setup is kinda 'take it or leave it' and may get old fast, but I usually have a fun time here. Go skate it, before snow crushes all of your hopes and dreams.

The Skateparks of Chicopee - Part II (Ray Ash)

For the second installment of this series, we are looking at a skatepark whose design, obstacles, and lack of upkeep is truly dumbfounding and somewhat sad. 

Ray Ash Skatepark

Arcade Street

If you look at the photo above, you will notice there was at least 5 other people in the park when it was taken. This is a true rarity. It is almost always abandoned, for a good reason unfortunately. I will put up with a lot wrong in in a skatepark, but this place is pretty close to being completely worthless, even for me. If this park was literally in my backyard, I might skate it sometimes. But like I said, it's not a total waste - it achieves a unique, top-notch shittiness that most parks couldn't accomplish if they tried. This does give it some appeal in my eyes. Take for instance, this thing - the most wondrous, awe-inspiring obstacle of them all - something I like to call "The Pit".

THE PIT!

Front noseblunt in "the pit".

This extraordinary beast, believe it or not, is probably the most worthwhile thing here. The 'ramps' are about 2' high and pretty much just half-painted concrete jersey barriers. This setup is kind of interesting because you can get creative with it: slide, grind, or ollie into it perhaps? Attempt to skate it like a bowl somehow? Get some speed and launch outta there? Of course there are terrible cracks and random uneven patches of pavement around the whole thing which adds to the sketchiness and challenge. Oh and this one corner. Fun stuff:

Nearby, you have what I assume is supposed to be a spine - really it's just 2 ramps whose backs face each other. They are the same type as the ones found in the pit. There is a little gap in the middle of them that's usually filled with trash. The biggest problem here is the cracks at the bottom of this are especially bad, which makes skating this not a very fun experience. 

Elsewhere we have this…interesting…pyramid-type setup. 

It has 2 very needlessly long concrete banks that lead up to a small platform that's close to 4' in height. The bottom of these banks, of course, are marred with the same cracks as everything else here. My personal suggestion is using these banks maybe as a slanted manual pad on the lower parts, or as a bank-to-bank hip transfer of sorts, as there is a gap between them, which varies in size. It takes a stupid amount of effort, is inconvenient and difficult, etc. but it is a way to make them worthwhile. Otherwise you're headed for this atrocity:

True atrociousness.

                                 











Nothin' like pushing up a big ol' bank only to hit a giant crack right before a 6-stair, ay? You know that kid is stoked on it. At least it doubles as a trash receptacle. I think the last couple stairs are waxed and might grind on a good day. The other bank brings you towards a quarter pipe that is around the same height. 

The transition is pretty mellow and weird-feeling. It looks like someone tried to fix up the bottom of it, but a big crack remains - though it is more tolerable than its brethren. 

The rest of this park is pure, empty space; and even there the pavement is not very smooth, lots of sticks and leaves everywhere, etc. Other than the sketchy/challenging novelty aspect of it all, this park honestly doesn't have much for redeeming qualities. Still - go skate it! Think of it a super-exaggerated East Coast style spot. 

The Skateparks of Chicopee - Part I (Sarah Jane)

Chicopee, Massachusetts. An unassuming town that somehow has accumulated FIVE skateparks. Yes, five. Surely there are towns out there, very likely nearby, that are in dire need to just have one, but instead they have all amassed in Chicopee - must be because of its booming skateboard community! Ahem. Anyways. It is a case of quantity over quality, however each park has its own charm - whether it be cheesy-but-fun plastic ledges or laughably bad obstacles, they are all kinda turds in disguise in their own ways, in varying degrees. I've always been a fan of turd parks in a way, they force you to work with what you have, deal with unkemptness and general sketchiness, and often present you with oddball things to skate.

Thus begins this five-part series. A general overview of each Chicopee skatepark, presenting them in all their scrappy glory. Hopefully these summaries will make you laugh, make you cry, bewilder you, frighten you, then make you want to get out there and skate! We're going to start off easy. Our first look is at perhaps the most legitimate, well-known park out of this cast of maltreated jokers. 

Sarah Jane Skatepark

Chicopee Street

Sarah Jane is probably the most skateable overall of the fearsome five. It's got a lot of open space, the pavement is decently smooth, variety of obstacles. Maybe the highlight for me here is being able to move lots of things around (boxes/ledges/manual pads of varying shapes and sizes and a picnic table). The plethora of boxes are, as plastic boxes always are, very slippery. You'll have no problems grinding or sliding as far as your wild heart desires - and thanks to overzealous middle-of-the box waxers, powerslides are an option as well, though they'll usually be accidental. Though slickness can be an issue and it is tough to lock into a grind, they are fun and portable, so there really is endless possibilities with these, I've skated them with alot of different placements. There is probably about 6 or 7 of these total, ranging in ~2" high manual pad, ~10" box, ~14" bench. The picnic table is the same plastic material but also has metal coping on the edges. It is pretty big at around 2' high, though the 'seat' parts are lower and also coped.

Kevin Walker utilizing junk.

Like any good outdoor park, there is bound to be random objects from the outside world that get tossed into the mix. Here it is often empty Arizona Iced Teas and such, but sometimes there will be things that are useful, like trash cans or a metal slab that was once a piece of a kicker ramp.

There is a big, smooth metal bank in one corner that's maybe about 6' high. That leads into a little bank-to-box which is often surrounded with the other movable boxes in any way imaginable. There is pretty much an identical bank in the adjacent corner, though a little less steep and made of a different "Skatelite" metal, or something. Across from that you have a tiny pyramid setup with banks, a launch ramp and a spine. That then leads into a quarter pipe that's about 4' in height. The flow going back and forth here is kinda bad, but not awful. It's mostly the pyramid to blame, which, if anything, slows you down, mostly due to unrepaired wear and tear. Its smallness is an intriguing oddity, however, the quarter pipe and bank are more worthy foes. They show some light damage too but have been fixed somewhat recently I think. Quarter pipe coping grinds fine.

You like rails, do ya? Pfft. Well, you shan't be disappointed at Sarah Jane, methinks. You've got this round rail that is not only nifty and curvy but lengthy too:

You've also got your standard straight round rail that is about half that length, and a green flat rail kinda hidden next to the pyramid. They're all around a foot in height.

So there you have it. Really if you're not expecting too much this isn't a bad park, if you're into ledges, rails and manuals Sarah Jane should at least suffice. Like all Chicopee parks, it's rarely crowded, or even occupied for that matter. If it is, it's usually kids on scooters, bikes, or nothing at all. Having all sorts of things to move around makes coming here always an adventure, you never know what kind of setup you're going to walk into or what new ones you can come up with. Lots of possibilities with lines and such. Go skate!