Artist Walk Skatepark in Riverside is set to open sometime in the first week of August. But skateboarders who ignore the “no trespassing” signs aren’t waiting.

City officials say they are aware of the problem. “Skaters sneaking in has been minimized by the presence of security on the park grounds,” the city said in an email. But no security guards were present Monday as City Councilman Jimmy Peluso watched skateboarders roll down the new concrete ramps.

Peluso is more than ready for the approaching opening.

“The week of August 5th is what we’re all aiming for, and that’s what I’ve been pushing for,” Peluso said. “I honestly would have liked to have it open weeks ago, or before the summer, because these kids are restless. They want to get out there and they want to enjoy it, and I understand that’s what they want to do. But we don’t want people breaking the law.”

The skate park is located in the shadow of the Fuller Warren Bridge. Between the on- and off-ramps to the bridge from Park Street, the park features wide, curving concrete walkways and benches surrounded by fresh greenery, while multiple ramps, rails and other skateboarding equipment curve around the concrete bridge piers.

The $8.8 million skate park is located next to the Riverside Avenue end of a pedestrian walkway that was built a few years ago to connect walkers, joggers and cyclists to San Marco across the St. Johns River. The skate park is also across the street from the 15-year-old Riverside Arts Market, which the city says provides a much-needed public space connecting historic Riverside and the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood.

Building the park under the bridge will remove the “huge barrier” between Riverside and Brooklyn communities, Peluso said.

“We need more connectivity,” Peluso said. “You want these public spaces to be places where people want to go. I love going to Memorial Park or Riverside Park, where you sit on the benches and enjoy nature. But we need other parks that bring people together in other ways, and that’s why I’m so excited about this.”

The skate park broke ground a year ago on a former dirt lot that stretches three city blocks between Riverside Avenue and Park Street under the bridge. The skate park is called a linear park space because it features multi-use paths, parking and a paved plaza with space for local artists to showcase their work. Patches of artificial turf fill the winding walkways.

The City Council had to vote on a free lease for the 6-acre site because it’s under a bridge operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. They did that a week ago. It now awaits Mayor Donna Deegan’s approval, after which the fence around the park will come down.

The new park was funded by the city and the Florida Department of Transportation. The park will also connect to the Emerald Trail in Jacksonville. Portions of the trail opened in the LaVilla community in recent weeks.

“This is going to be a really cool neighborhood, and a connected area as we move forward,” Peluso said.

There’s no exact date for the park’s opening, Peluso said. But the opening is a new piece of development, including a new hotel a few blocks down Park Street and other planned improvements in the Brooklyn and LaVilla communities, he said. Plans include a “Road Diet” on Park Street, with space for two-way bicyclists, expanded sidewalks, safer pedestrian crossings and more trees.

“We’re really going to see Park Street activated over the next year or two,” Peluso said. “It would be great to see that continue all the way down Park Street and all the way into the Riverside area. And one way to make sure that’s activated is to tie it directly to this skate park and RAM,” short for the Riverside Arts Market.

As for the skateboarders entering the park, Peluso said he would report it to the city and ask the kids to leave.