LAMBERTVILLE, Mich. — Parmalee Skate Park is located off Summerfield Road in Bedford Township. The township's park commission voted 2-1 to demolish it in December of 2023.
Ashton Ridgely and Jack Rocker go to the park often and say they rely on it.
"We have nowhere else to ride except Highland pretty much," Rocker said.
While the entrance to the Lambertville skate park is currently locked, crews removed the back fence during the demolition. This allowed riders access and a first look at what the half-demolished park looks like.
"Honestly, I'm heartbroken. This is home for me and a lot of the other kids," Ridgely said. "We were kind of blindsided. We found out about this maybe two or three days ago and half of it is already gone."
But Bedford Township Supervisor Paul Pirrone said the topic isn't new. He said the park needed repairs and something needed to be done.
"This has been going on for years," Pirrone said. "It's rotted in a lot of areas and it's unsafe. A lot of the screws have come off that you can't put back in."
Pirrone made the decision to close the gates about five months ago. He said the town's insurance company was also concerned.
He alerted the Bedford Park Commission, which controls the park.
"You need to fix it. Hire a company to fix it, they have funds to fix it, they could vote to fix it." Pirrone said. "They voted to close it down."
Pirrone said the commission is considering a new skate park that would cost at least $500,000.
"Realistically, I was hoping we could get this thing the love it deserves," Ridgely said. "At the end of the day, I'm definitely not opposed to getting a replacement."
Pirrone said the park commission plans to present ideas for the new park at a trustees meeting on Tuesday. He said trustees would most likely vote on whether the discussion to build a new park can move forward.