Does Oxford need a “ramp park” for bike, rollerblade and skateboard enthusiasts?
Forty-six people say “yes,” according to a survey recently conducted by the Village of Oxford.
During Celebrate Oxford Aug. 23, the village set up a portable ramp park at the old fire hall on W. Burdick St., behind the township and village offices.
“It was really well attended,” said village President Steve Allen at the Aug. 26 council meeting.
Each person who used the free ramp park was asked to complete a short survey about the possibility of building a permanent one in Oxford.
Allen said about half of those who used it filled out a survey. He read the results during the council meeting.
Of the 46 people who responded, 100 percent said Oxford does need a ramp park.
When asked why one is needed, 46 percent (21) answered because there’s “nothing for non-sports kids to do;” 28 percent (13) said it “helps keep kids out of trouble;” and 26 percent (12) said “it’s lots of fun.”
As for where such a park should be located, 61 percent (28) answered “centrally;” 15 percent (7) said the old fire hall; 11 percent (5) favored Scripter Park; 7 percent (3) voted for Seymour Lake Park; and 6 percent (3) said at the schools.
How the respondents would use the ramp park broke down as follows – 57 percent (26) for skateboarding; 78 percent (36) for biking; and 35 percent (16) for rollerblading.
Eighty-seven percent (40) of those surveyed said they would be willing to help make a ramp park a happen, while 13 percent (6) said they wouldn’t.
Eighty-seven percent (40) of the people participating in the survey classified themselves as “youth,” while the other 13 percent (6) said they were adults.
Thirty-nine percent (18) of those surveyed live in the village, 41 percent (19) reside in the township and 20 percent (9) said they live outside Oxford.
Allen said the results would be forwarded to the village’s Youth Council and the three Oxford High School students (Brandon White, Justin Clasman and Kevin Jones) who proposed building such a park at the Dec. 10, 2002 council meeting.
White was encouraged by the survey results, but said he wasn’t surprised.
“I know there’s nobody against it,” he said. “There’s no reason for them to be against it. All it is, is a place for kids to get out, stay out of trouble and have fun at the same time.”
White said he and Clasman and Jones are still in the process of researching possible funding sources for the project and potential park locations.
Thanks to help from students in the high school’s Computer Aided Design (CAD) class, White said a variety of different ramp park designs were created.
The size of the location available will dictate which park design is selected, White said.