Measures to prevent waterlogging at The Yard skate park
Enthusiastic skaters have set up a crowd funding campaign at a wasteland in the city of Utrecht. Once the skate park opened, it turned out to be incapable of withstanding severe downpours. Waterlogging rendered the ramps unfit for use. The KNHM Foundation came to the skaters’ rescue and developed measures to prevent waterlogging.
The Kruisvaartterrein in Utrecht, among skaters better known as “The Yard”, used to be a wasteland near Utrecht Central Station. In 2013, a group of skaters took the initiative of transforming the premises into a skate park. In addition to providing a nice skating location, the construction of an official park would also improve safety in the area, as the premises were located on a dilapidated and desolate spot in the vicinity of the Utrecht railway station.
Through the “The Yard” foundation, the group of skaters has the premises on a temporary sublease from NS, the Dutch railway company. Following a successful crowd funding campaign, the unofficial “skating spot” was converted into an official skate park. The skate park saw its opening on 9 July 2017, but it could not be used on account of waterlogging. During (severe) downpours, water failed to drain properly.
Strategy to combat waterlogging
A consultant of the KNHM Foundation has provided advice regarding drainage of the skate park. The Yard foundation has opted for an efficient approach. This means that rather than drawing up an extensive step-by-step plan and reports, the focus was on the elaboration of tangible solutions.
The parties first collectively reviewed the situation to identify the bottlenecks. Subsequently, the soil conditions were examined, and an advisory report was drawn up listing potential measures and recommendations to combat the waterlogging. Eventually, the parties opted for the implementation of three measures:
- Drilling into the skate park’s layer of concrete. Drillings allow rainwater to infiltrate into the soil. The infiltration wells have been fitted with special well lids to ensure the safety of the skaters, as recommended by the Foundation and by Skateparkrecht.nl. In consultation with the KNHM consultant, the Skateparkrecht.nl consultant has set down the locations for the infiltration wells. Construction of the wells was crucial to drain the water and to enable the use of the skate park. The wells have been placed in a manner that minimises nuisance for the skaters.
- Excavating the access road. The further excavation of the access road to the skate park enables rainwater run-off from the skate park to surface water.
- Construction of a low embankment. On the north side of the skate park, a 5 cm “embankment” has been constructed to prevent rainwater from flowing in from the northern section. The embankment consists of kerbstones bonded to the existing fencing.
Lessons to be learned
- In this project, failure to pay sufficient attention to drainage during the construction phase has resulted in waterlogging. The earth wall constructed to reduce noise nuisance even created more of a “bathtub” effect in the skate park. In similar projects, it would be expedient to consider, prior to embarking on the construction, how rainwater can be properly drained.
Contact person
Remco Jutstra
KNHM Utrecht
jutstra@gmail.com
06 - 27443661