When skaters and BMX bikers take over a newly refurbished public space, this is usually a cause for community conflicts, but lovers of these freestyle sports only have a few places around town to practice and hang out. This is why it’s good news that Budapest officials will hand over the neglected area under a bridge for bikers and skaters by the end of this summer – this way pedestrians won’t be bothered by half-pipes, rail slides, and grinding.
We found this exciting announcement on the website of the Hungarian Freestyle BMX Association; a few years ago, they turned to the city administration to draw attention to the fact that fans of extreme sports have very few opportunities for practicing in the capital. They cooperated with a design office from District IX, and they planned the park under the Pest end of Petőfi Bridge within the frameworks of a tender. The plan wasn’t realized back then, but they consulted with Orange Ramps and created a new design for the skatepark where the needs of scooterers and skaters were also considered. And now, with the renovation of Nehru Bank, the new Boráros Square skatepark under the bridge is set to be inaugurated on August 17th.
