Planners in Denmark recently worked with the municipality of Roskilde, Denmark to construct Rabalder Parken, an outdoor skateboard park that doubles as a drainage and stormwater storage system; it combines a modern problem, managing stormwater, with a modern obsession, skate parks. Roskilde is among the municipalities in Denmark where storm sewer overflow is a problem during increasingly frequent high intensity, short duration storms. This multi-use system assures that a stand-alone drainage structure won't take up public space for som ething that happens only a few times a year but will instead provide a recreational oasis for local residents.
The $4.7 million dollar project constructed on approximately 10 acres of recreational space addresses the community's need for both a drainage conveyance/storage system and an attractive gathering space. The price tag may sound high, but it is more cost effective than constructing each facility on its own.
This facility features 24,700 SF of concrete bowls, ramps, railings and other features found in a top notch skate park. As a parent of an avid skateboarder, I know it is his dream to take a day to ride in all of the local concrete ditches (and probably draw the attention of the local sheriff's department in the process). The slopes, curves and ledges created by concrete ditches make these drainage features an attractive potential playground for skaters. Municipalities, however, frown on skateboarders and other athletes on wheels enjoying themselves in local drainage ways.
The plans for the facility were originally meant only to address increasingly frequent rainstorms and flash floods leaving local basements and roadways underwater. The original plan called for a traditional straight concrete channel. Roskilde officials were then approached by an architect who had designed numerous skateboarding parks with the idea of combining the proposed drainage system with a skate park. What a great idea: Create a facility designed to be used for both stormwater management and this type of recreation.
The final design includes winding asphalt and concrete channels to carry rainwater to three basins. Rainwater drains down a 30 foot wide by 1440 foot long open cha nnel to the first basin which is constructed as a permanent small lake. When the first basin reaches capacity, runoff drains into the second and third basins, constructed as concrete skating bowls that will fill only during large rainfall events. The third basin is designed to handle a 10- year storm event (a rainfall event with a 1 in 10 chance of occurring in any given year).
Stormwater that accumulates in the basins is pumped through a system of pipes to the Roskilde Fjord. This assures the basins will be emptied within a couple of days. The system has a total stormwater storage capacity of 18.63 acre-feet or 811,613 cubic feet (enough to fill nearly 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools). The park also includes other features meant for users not on wheels such as hammocks, barbecue pits, fitness equipment, jogging paths, and trampolines.
Since its opening in August 2012, the park has become a popular meeting place. This project demonstrates how water resources projects and other facets of infrastructure can be designed to engage the public, not just serve solely utilitarian concerns.
Information From: "Civil Engineering", ASCE, September 2013, www.trendhunter.com, www.buildinggreen.com
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