As residents of the Village of Hastings on Hudson, we are opposed to the further development of the Burke Estate to build a 5,000-square-foot concrete skateboard park. This location adjacent to Farragut Avenue and Burnside Drive is unsuitable for a skatepark for the following reasons:
1) Financial Impact. Due to the sloped, uneven, wooded environment of this proposed site, this project will cost at least $150,000 in taxpayer dollars plus much more in excavation costs, not including the cost of ongoing maintenance and oversight to our village once it's built. Given the many other village projects and needs competing for priority status, this warrants much broader community input.
2) Safety Concerns. The proposed location off of Farragut Avenue poses a significant safety risk for children. There is no plan to add a crosswalk near the site; there's limited visibility; and cars drive very fast. The steep driveway adjacent to the proposed skate park location goes directly into the busy traffic of Farragut Avenue. We are also concerned about the security of the skatepark and how this will be monitored, particularly at night.
3) Environmental Impact. Hastings prides itself on the preservation of its green spaces and addresses climate change through local mitigation efforts and resiliency planning. Yet under this plan, a sizable swath of trees within the Burke Estate would be razed and replaced by 5,000 square feet of CO2 emitting concrete. There is no plan to include an Environmental Impact Assessment and this is contradictory to the environmental sustainability goals of the Village.
4) Parking and Traffic Issues. A skatepark in this location will increase traffic along a very busy avenue, and there is no available parking for those who come by car. The use of Burke fields has multiplied over the years with multi-sport and league usage and the existing parking lot is not suitable for current levels of use and there are no plans to increase parking.
