Huntington Woods to keep rink at Val Jones Skate Park closed

HUNTINGTON WOODS — Val Jones Skate Park has had a delayed opening this spring, while the inline skating rink will not open at all this year.

The city of Huntington Woods recently announced that the skate bowl at Val Jones could not open due to issues with some areas of concrete inside the bowl.

Parks and Recreation Director Melissa Prowse said the bowl opening is slightly delayed so the city’s Public Works Department can patch some concrete to make it safe.

“We don’t want anybody tripping or falling in there,” she said. “So, just a few small patches.”

The DPW is scheduled to fix the patches this week, barring any delays caused by weather.

Director Kevin Wayne said the patches are 3 inches in diameter, which is minor for the DPW to fix, and they should cure in place overnight.

“It depends on the weather. If my guys go in there and clean it up real good and patch it, it’ll be dry by the next day,” he said.

The inline skating rink is a bigger issue at hand for the city. According to Prowse, it was closed as the rink didn’t pass the city’s safety inspection this year.

The main issues with the rink are its surface, which has cracks and splits; the asphalt underneath has started to crumble; there are gaps and divots along the boards that are a trip hazard; and the fencing that surrounds the entire rink.

“The way the fence was initially constructed is a safety concern,” Prowse said. “It doesn’t really meet how we would want to build something like that now to keep it safe. We wouldn’t put metal poles and chain-link fence around the edge of the park. So, the metal poles are a blunt force trauma concern if somebody hits that at high speeds.”

Prowse stated the chain-link is a concern because the coating has started to come off and it now has sharp edges of fence that are poking into the rink.

“There’s also a concern about the gap between the chain link fence and the dasher boards that a hand or arm could easily get caught in there,” she added.

Huntington Woods is planning on creating a new master plan for Val Jones this year that will look at the park as a whole and determine the city’s long-term investment that meets the needs of the residents.

Prowse said this doesn’t mean that there won’t be an inline rink in the future, but they are reexamining the entire park area.

“It could eventually be repaired, we could decide that we want to build a whole new one or we could decide maybe that’s not the best location and maybe we put something else there, but no decisions have been made,” she said. “Just for safety purposes, we’re just not going to open it so nobody gets hurt.”