Let the good times roll: New skatepark opens
Kairi Stanbrook enjoys the new park. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles
Joe, left, and Jett Kelble prepare to ride to the new facility.
Riders start their journey to the Wareham Street facility.
Bicyclists and skateboarders gave the new facility a try.
Riders line up to try out the park. 
The ribbon is officially cut. 
Brandon Christie, Jenna Dean and their canine pals Jax and Hazyl.
Hana, left, and Elsie Pasalacqua.
Spencer Daniel works the grill.
Chris Capeau and his daughter, Aria go for a spin.
Kairi Stanbrook enjoys the new park. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles
Joe, left, and Jett Kelble prepare to ride to the new facility.
Riders start their journey to the Wareham Street facility.
Bicyclists and skateboarders gave the new facility a try.
Riders line up to try out the park.
The ribbon is officially cut.
Brandon Christie, Jenna Dean and their canine pals Jax and Hazyl.
Hana, left, and Elsie Pasalacqua.
Spencer Daniel works the grill.
Chris Capeau and his daughter, Aria go for a spin.
MIDDLEBORO -- They were on a roll.
The traditional four-wheel traffic just off Middleboro Center briefly gave way to bikes, boards and even rollerblades Saturday, June 27 as skaters made a brief but symbolic trek.
The riders left from the aging structure near Peirce playground to a brand new facility designed to keep the fun rolling along.
The new Middleboro Skatepark officially opened with a ribbon cutting and other festivities.
“This is the day everybody’s been waiting for, for the town to get a new, safer park,’’ said Brandon Christie, a member of the Middleboro Skatepark Committee.
And wait they did. Seven years elapsed between the first meetings to consider a new skatepark, to replace the old one near Peirce playground, with a new one at Nemasket Park, where the former Department of Public Works building was located.
During that time, which included logistical challenges from Covid restrictions, money was raised through a variety of sources, from grants to T-shirt sales.
The new skate park includes half-pipes, rails, a bowl and other ramps and features for skateboarders, bikers and scooter riders.
"I love the new skatepark,'' Dustin Poh, 10, said. "There's no cracks'' in the foundation, which the aging facility featured.
Joe Kelbe still had a sentimental attachment to the old park even as he prepared to ride to the new one. "I think the old park should go to my yard,'' he said with a chuckle.
Kimberly French, who previously served as chair of the Community Preservation Committee, which helped to support the construction, said the park is “one of my favorite CPC projects.’’
She noted that the park appeals to both kids and adults. “It’s well worth the investment.’’
The “amazing community effort'' won praise from Abigail Bagley, director of constitutent services for State Sen. Kelly Dooner. Bagley presented a citation from Dooner’s office.
Bagley described the effort as a testament to teamwork.
“This is what being in a town like Middleboro is all about,’’ she said.
As the ceremonial ribbon was cut to open the site, Skatepark Committee Chair Mike Pasalacqua, the project organizer, shared a broad smile and three simple but powerful words.
“We did it.’’
