New Raleigh Skate Park: Marsh Creek- Opens May 2nd

Raleigh’s Marsh Creek Skate Park opens with a dedication on May 2nd at 11:30 am. Pads and helmets are required and children under 18 they have to have a parent signed waiver. The park is located at 3016 New Hope Road Some of the local skating elite have gotten early access. Check out the photos below and a video by local film maker Netposer.

Rules and Regulations

1. Enter at your own risk. Flying objects are not uncommon. Skate within your
abilities. Stay in control of your equipment. Watch out for other skaters.
2. Signed waivers are required for all skate park participants BEFORE using the
skatepark.
3. Appropriate safety gear must be worn at all times. Violation of skatepark rules,
including failure to wear a proper helmet, kneepads, elbow pads, and closed toed
shoes will subject persons to citation and other consequences including expulsion
from the skatepark.
4. Bicycles, scooters, glass containers, and outside ramps, jumps, and obstacles are
prohibited. Restrict skating to features specifically designed for that purpose.
5. Respect skatepark surfaces -tagging or graffiti are not allowed.
6. Inspect skating surfaces before using and remove any trash or debris that may
prevent a smooth, safe ride. Do not ride damaged, wet, or icy surfaces.
7. Report hazardous conditions, damages to skate park surfaces, and other
maintenance concerns to the Parks and Recreation Department at 919-831-6640
or 919-565-6079.
8. This is a drug-free zone. Drug use/possession and alcohol consumption are
prohibited.
9. Respect other park users - abusive language and loud music are not allowed
within the park.
10. The City of Raleigh reserves the right to change the hours of operation.
11. Call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency.

Hours of operation:

8 a.m. - 9p.m. June - August
8 a.m. - 8 p.m. April, May and September
8 a.m. - 7 p.m. March and October
8 a.m. - 6 p.m. November - February

Read more about the progress of the park here : Harsh Creak

Construction Photos by Harsh Creek Here

Photos from justSkate.me

Video From Netposer

hackles1004/09 10:24 AM

where is this located?

David04/09 10:40 AM

Updated above

Forrest Samuels04/09 10:41 AM

It is at 3016 New Hope Road in NE Raleigh.
Map Link: http://tinyurl.com/chst7s

allison04/09 11:12 AM

I want to know who is skating at 8am.

tony04/09 11:38 AM

@allison - probably me because i’m old, out of shape, and prone to dazzling displays of bad coordination. they used to have a geezers session at project 58 on sunday nights. it was great for having fun without getting schooled by a twelve year old.

mgd04/09 12:41 PM

Im glad to see NR reporting on something other than Downtown news. This place will be packed all day long.

Drew04/09 03:45 PM

tony - thanks for that post. I was wondering when dinosaur-hour was. See you at 8…:-)

I’m disappointed there aren’t bike-session hours like they do at sk8-cary. Any word on that?

oakcity04/09 06:50 PM

as of right now, no bikes and we’d like to keep it that way, bikes can do a lot of damage to a park, in fact theres already been one spot that needs to be fixed because of a bike being thrown.

artisan has done a bang up job on this park though. big thanks to andy and the guys at artisan.

mgd04/09 08:27 PM

I like this rule: Flying objects are not uncommon. ie out of control kids.

Johnny Randolph04/09 08:31 PM

I wish they had built more than a big bowl

Rob04/09 09:00 PM

They do have more than the big bowl. See above artist conception.

DPK04/09 11:48 PM

I wish people would read before they post. What is this, wral/golo @ new raleigh now?

Babs04/10 09:41 AM

Good! Looking forward to checking it out. Let’s get a Water Park in Raleigh,now. It would be a HIT! Something like the one near Busch Gardens, Va.

Cardello04/10 02:19 PM

B M X

SPCLGST......04/11 12:46 PM

PADS…...STOOPS…..WHO WORE PADS WHEN THEY WERE KIDS….THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION…NO ONE…...STOP OVER PROTECTING YOUR KIDS PEOPLE…......

DPK04/11 01:41 PM

Because “caps lock” is cruise control for cool.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?! I’M ON THE INTERNETS!

SPCLGST......04/11 05:37 PM

SPCLGST IS NOT COOL…..ONLY CUTE…ON A SERIOUS MY POOTER IS STUCK IN CAPS LOCK….THATS HOW I BE CRUIZZZZIN….

justSkate.me04/13 08:32 AM

No bikes or scooters allowed.

On Saturday I watched a bike try to grind/slide down a hip bank (the angled edge of concrete where two banks meet). The biker chipped the concrete. Now there’s a chunk of concrete missing from that edge. We had to pick up the small pieces out of the flow area. Not sure what he was thinking as I’m sure he knew his bike would break the concrete.

A bunch of us older guys met up at the park yesterday (Sun.) around 9:30 am. 3 RPD cars were sitting in the parking lot. We skated for 10 minutes before 2 of them came up and asked us to leave. Turns out the owner of Diamond Const. (Gen. Contractor) sent an email to the RPD complaining about the lack of enforcement by the police (kicking skaters out of the park). The cops were really cool about the entire situation and told us their boss was on their butts to keep skaters out of the park until the city takes over Wednesday the 15th of April.

I asked the officer about his role in enforcing the pad rule in the park and he told us he can’t enforce that as it’s the parks department’s responsibility and not the RPD’s.

It was odd to have such a pleasant experience with both cops and skaters.

highjoeltage04/13 12:29 PM

Same thing happened to me later that day. Only then there were 5 cops.

alejandro04/13 05:52 PM

Is it gonna be free?

oakcity04/14 07:37 AM

yes the park will be free, but you do have to have a waiver on file with the city, and now pads and helmets are required.

i’d like to thank the city of raleigh for building a park for the roughly 20 of us that do pad up, because thats the only people that will be able to skate there.

c’mon raleigh!! lighten up and let folks make their own decisions,repeal the pad law! by requiring this constant supervision you are forcing more kids into the streets to skate.

David04/14 08:38 AM

Asking for pads and a waiver is hardly Raleigh being rough on skaters. Skate and Bike parks all over the US require both to limit their liability when you bust your face open.

justkste.me04/14 05:38 PM

@David. Parks all over the country DO NOT require pads. And a lot of cities post the rules and don’t get crazy with enforcement.

Florida allows those over 18 to opt-out of elbow and knee pads and kids can get their parents to sign a waiver to allow them not to ware elbow or knee pads also.

SPCLGST......04/14 07:42 PM

PADS = VERT AIDS…....

heckter04/15 07:13 AM

I was wondering if u are going to have staff out there watching to make sure the kids are wearing pads…. and behaving…..

justkste.me04/15 08:11 AM

If that city staffs the skatepark they should staff all parks and fields. Make sure the kids are wearing the proper shoes on the soccer and baseball fields. Oh, yeah, make sure they are behaving also.

mgd04/15 11:43 AM

For the most part parks and fields are regulated not necessary by the city. State parks have Park Ranges that do check in on you. Sporting events are regulated by their respective associations.

Im not sure why anyone would not want to them.

Jason04/21 06:56 PM

Where do we get the waivers?

justSkate.me04/21 07:42 PM

Waiver
http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_136729_0_0_18/Waiver_Skate_Park.pdf

P.J.04/21 09:43 PM

why are pads required? this is ruining skateboarding and they wonder why people skate around the city and not at the parks. this is a joke. i’m from louisville which has one of the bigger city owned skateparks and no pads are required. the louisville skatepark would kick this parks ass too. full half pipe and 20ft bowls - no pads required. let people skate at their own risk!!!

Rob04/27 04:23 PM

It’s not the cities rule, it’s a NC General Statute that is supposed to be enforced in all public skateparks. I agree that the rules should be helmet only, but it’s not the City of Raleigh we need to talk to since it’s not their law. I’m sure after a while they will slack up on it like Greenfield does.

justkste.me04/27 05:00 PM

I will say this. I was skeptical of how the park/pad nannies would attempt to enforce the rules. So far they have all been super nice and open minded.

They’ll be the first to admit they have never done this (manage a skatepark) and are trying to figure it out as they go.

It’s funny to see the pad nannies enjoying themselves while getting skaters to comply with the rules and fill out waivers.

The weird thing is most of them “get it” and use common sense to enforce the ordinance. They don’t try to bully the skaters or talk down to them/us. They listen and want to make the park a place where all types of skaters go to “not get harassed”.

There’s a few cosmetic things they are working on. Moving trashcans further away from the skating areas. Further meaning a few feet instead of a few inches. Creating a walk-way near the big bowl because that’s where everyone is walking up to skate the park from the parking lot.

They are open to suggestions of providing helmets for those who don’t have them etc… Granted it’s not their decision but they are listening, which is odd.

I just hope it stays this way and they learn that most of us just want to go there and skate without being harassed by some gov’t employee that doesn’t have a clue. Like this security guard/parks employee in Milton, FL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td_sUsNhkVA

jeremy04/29 09:39 PM

yeah raleigh, separate but equal in 2009! make a no pegs rule and lets bikes in for christ sake.

mgd04/29 10:09 PM

That would be one more rule to complain about. I still havent understood what the problem is with the helmet rule. Can anyone tell me why its not a good idea.

I know safety devices arent always safe to use in certain instances but here I dont see the harm in wearing it.

Striker05/08 08:38 AM

I think we should all write to the NC General and ask them to waiver the helmet and elbow/knee pad rules. Thats only if you guys really want to do something about it. Either way, your still going to be skating it, right? =)

oakcity05/08 11:04 AM

i think thats a great idea, seeing as how the pad law is a state thing and not a city issue.

i still skate it, i pad up, i have a kid, a job, and a mortgage to think about, i just hate it that some of the folks that really put in a lot of time and effort on this aren’t allowed to skate because they don’t wear pads.

i can see the state and cities concerns, i’d like to see a compromise on this, if you’re 18 or older you get to make you’re own decision, if you’re under 18 then you have to wear a helmet.

P.J.05/11 09:47 PM

I’m not going to be skating anywhere that requires pads. It’s a joke. I don’t see the city or state’s concerns. Put up a sign that says skate at your own risk, pads and helmets recommended. There are plenty of states and cities that have skateparks that don’t require pads. If you choose not to wear them it’s on you if you get hurt. I’ll keep skating at project 58 and the city can watch there money go down the drain when nobody skates there. Look at the city owned skatepark in Cary that can barely get two people there b/c it’s $10 to skate and another $15 to rent pads. I can’t wait till I go back to Louisville and can skate a real park wearing what I want to. NC needs to get real.

mgd05/12 06:49 AM

I still havent seen any one respond to why its better to not wear pads than it is to wear them. Can anyone explain that to me?

oakcity05/12 07:12 AM

us older guys learned to skate with pads, we knee slide out of every bail, but thats skating on transitions, newer kids never learned this, they run out of everything, so pads don’t really do them any good and actually are a hindrance, just think if you had played basketball for years and all of a sudden someone says you have to wear pads and a helmet, you’re not used to it so its going to hinder the way you play.

pads can help you bail out of a trick, but they won’t prevent a broken bone, and if you’ve never skated with pads then its going to effect your reaction time.

Mighty Whitey05/13 08:57 AM

For those of us over 18, let us decide whether or not to wear pads. I am fully aware that I can get hurt skating just like you can get hurt play other sports. I’ve rolled my ankle more times playing basketball, but you don’t see signs at public courts saying that ankle braces are required.

Andrew05/15 06:30 PM

Hey, how about something like: Thanks Raleigh for taking the time and money to build this impressive skate park for us.

from skateandannoydotcom05/20 12:29 PM

“Don’t know if this will help anyone fighting the good fight, (and it’s actually kind of depressing that county Parks & Rec types should have already known this for years), but, it turns out that the dedicated June 2003 issue of Parks & Recreation Magazine (called, ironically enough, Skateparks 101) contains the following, on page 24.
“Paradoxically, the Skatepark Association of the United States of America is seeing a slightly higher injury rate among pads users. The reasons are unclear at this time. Nonetheless, at this time, the association doesn’t recommend enforcing pad requirements for skaters.
Even if you do require helmets and pads, don’t use the police to enforce these requirements. Police should check on the park to keep drug dealers, gang members and pedophiles out; officers have real crime to attend to. If you want to enforce helmets, then staff the park or place the responsibility where it belongs - on the parents. If they want their child to wear a helmet, they can come to the park and sit with them.
Helmet and pad enforcement is a matter of civil rights. Do you ticket baseball players for not wearing a batting helmet? Do you ticket kids playing football without pads? Do you ticket kids playing a game of ice hockey in their jeans and jackets? If not, then you need to ask why you enforce skateboard pad requirements.”
Anyway, that magazine is put out by the National Recreation and Park Association (which may still be at http://www.nrpa.org), if anyone wants to track down a copy to wave about. (’Who knew the government was endangering skaters while making them smell worse, and when did they know it?!’) But the above paragraphs are quoted 100% verbatim, so one should not necessarily need a visual aid to wave. That article’s author is Heidi Lemmon, founder of the Skatepark Association of the United States of America, who might still be at http://www.spausa.org.”

mike kirby05/31 11:57 AM

i have a heavily influnced styyle which stems from surfing and bomben hills. does this park have areas to make the trans to park smoother at first.

oakcity06/05 02:06 PM

go early in the morning before the kids get there, you can skate the flow area when its empty, its got a nice surfy feel to it.

blake06/07 11:38 AM

i think that wearing knee-pads and elbow-pads is a stupid rule. i dont own kneepadds or elbow pads. you should be aloud to skate with helmet.

stupid rule.

tkp06/16 01:13 AM

shred life.

Jim07/24 05:15 PM

Pads pads pads…I think if youre over 18 it should be your choice. I’ve been skating since 79’ and only had one injury when broke my left elbow in 2 places. Though not that big a deal I still skated for another 40 minutes or so after the slam that broke it. Rock N Roll/frontside shifty to fakie out(if you wanted to know) and I only knocked my head once…seeing a few stars was that major either. It did lead me to believe cess slides on a frosty ramp wasnt a good idea although; it was fun. But I still hate helmets simply because they throw off your center of gravity and balance of the inner ear which results in more falling than a person would normally have. If safety is the concern, then it fails logic statistically to require something such as a helmet given the increased balance problems they cause. As for knee and elbow pads: same thing; personal choice the down side of them is that they bind movement at the joints. If anyone has skated for awhile; personal judgement and skill prevail which will lend to knowing when to bail and how to fall ie. running out of it or tucking and rolling out of it. I personally; would wear knee and elbow pads on vert. Skating has evolved quite a bit and places to skate hassle free exponentially so take a dinosaurs advice SHUT UP AND SKATE we’re lucky to get to ride anywhere pads or not.

Phillip07/31 08:16 PM

i havnt even skated this park yet. elbow/knee pads in my opinion are useless. if you want to wear a helmit and feel safe, be my guest. my park has been skate at your own risk for the past 4 years and just now the city of rocky mount wants to say pads and helmit required. if anyone is going to post a sign saying that i dont want it to be some city worker doing his job. i want a skater to post it and have a good reason for doing it. skateboarding is a dangerous sport. ive broken my ribs doing it, i dont think a helmit would have helped with that one. skate at your own risk or just quit for not learning by your mistakes. thats the way i see it.

Matt08/01 03:25 AM

You guys sound like a bunch of whiny bitches complaining about rules at a FREE public park. Bikers have to wear helmets too. Complain about protective gear but you don’t know the injuries it does prevent - Jim said it best.

oakcity08/03 03:29 AM

i’m down for helmets, i can see that.

i broke the humerus bone in my arm there about 3 weeks ago, no pad is going to stop that, in fact i’m pretty sure the plastic cap in my elbow pad added to the chance of a break.

william moyer08/04 07:40 PM

lmao this park suck ASS for real don’t go.!

oakcity08/05 03:37 AM

REALLY????

granted its probably not the DC plaza you would want with 14 sets of stairs and rails and hubbas oh my.

but its a FREE park,it concrete and its built well, learn to skate transitions and you might actually like it.

Dee10/14 08:07 AM

Can we fish at Marsh Creek? If so, please tell us the location. Thank you.

simona end moni02/25 02:46 PM

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simona end moni02/25 02:54 PM

super klip4e

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David Thursday, April 09, 2009