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Paine’s Park, a major focal point of the plan, will be a mixed-use public space designed with skateboarding in mind, set along the Schuylkill Riverbanks adjacent to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Image courtesy Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund)

Today, June 21 Is Go Skateboarding Day, an annual celebration of the creativity and spirit of one of the most widely enjoyed activities in the world.

Communities, skateparks and skateshops all around Philadelphia are participating to show how important skateboarding is to this city. You can tap in all day with skateboard T-shirt printing, skatepark obstacles and more.

Concurrently, the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department has partnered with non-profit Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund (FPSF), one of the first non-profit advocacy organizations dedicated to skateboarding in the entire country, to develop Philadelphia’s first city-wide skatepark Master Plan.

The Skatepark Master Plan outlines a five year scope of work designed to repurpose locations throughout Philadelphia to serve as free, public skateparks.

The plan identifies the need for 15 skateparks in West and Southwest Philadelphia. Key projects include: McCreesh Playground at 6744 Regent Street in Southwest Philadelphia; Nicetown between Germantown and Wayne Avenues; Granahan Playground at 6500 Callowhill Street in West Philadelphia; Mantua section of West Philadelphia; Rose Playground 1300 N. 75th Street in West Philadelphia; Knight Park in Ambler; and Paine’s Park, along the banks of the Schuylkill River adjacent to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. According to FPSF, these are just the starting point for an eventual 30-40 skateboarding spots throughout the Philadelphia region.

Additional plans already completed thanks to the efforts of FPSF over the last several years include: Pop’s Playground Skate Space: Trenton Avenue and E. Hazzard Street in Kensington, and Patrick Kerr Skatepark at Roslyn Park in Abington Township.

FPSF works under the noble goal of keeping Philadelphia kids off the wrong path and on the right (skate-able) one. Says Claire Laver, Executive Director of FPSF, “We envision a city where no child has to travel further than a half mile to access free, designated skate space.”

Check out another image of what Paine’s Park will look like, below.

Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund [Official Site]

Skateparks like Paine's Park will accommodate skateboarding, landscape architecture, and city planning to ensure that they provide a universally appealing public space. (Image courtesy Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund)