Update on memorial BMX, skate park: Case headed to Planning Commission in December

The Charlie Boone Memorial Park will feature a memorial bike and skate park at the intersection of Old Bridge and Smoketown roads in Lake Ridge. 

• The group that wants to build the park, the Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation, is working toward creating a family-friendly park for recreational BMX biking, skating and other outdoor activities in  Lake Ridge. 

The idea for the park was influenced by Charlie Boone, a Prince William County resident who died at age 22 in 2012. Boone enjoyed riding BMX bikes and skating, and found solace in the local BMX and skating community. 

A year following his passing, Boone’s mother, Wendy Boone learned that her son’s favorite spot to ride BMX was being sold, and the privately-owned land would now be subject to trespassing.

• This left local riders with no safe, public space to hone their skills, said Boone Remembering the joy that her son found on those trails inspired his family to want to create a place for other riders and their families to go to.

The 5.5-acre park will feature dirt jumps and a cement structure for riding BMX bikes and skateboards and will also be surrounded by a walking trail, as well as public seating areas. 

• It will be the only skatepark in Lake Ridge if it’s built. 

Members of the Prince William County Planning Commissioner were supposed to hear the case on Oct. 2, but it was deferred from the meeting agenda. 

• Prior to the meeting, the Prince William County Planning office received an email from the county’s parks and recreation department requesting the commission defer the case to allow additional time to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding between the foundation and the county. 
• The land that will be used for the park is county-owned land, and the two groups are hammering out the details of how the park will be maintained after the new park is open.

Parks and recreation will bring the MOU to the Board of County Supervisors to review during its closed-session meeting on November 19.

If the Board of County Supervisors gives the go-ahead, the Planning Commission’s review of the Charlie Boone Memorial Park will be scheduled for a public hearing on December 18. 

• Residents will be able to attend and comment on the plans for the park.

With county approval, Boone says that they are aiming to start developing the park in the spring, and expect construction to take upward of a year to complete. 

• The foundation is continuing to raise funds to build the park, as well as gather volunteers to help with the project. The foundation does not currently have a projected opening date for the park. 
• Boone says that the foundation is working with Pillar Design Studios to design the memorial skatepark.