Skate Park

I thought the City of Freeport was putting a skate area in the new City Park on Bay Loop Rd. Did they change that?

One thing to look at is cashflow if you're operating on a fee basis. I'm not sure how the BMX/skate park in FWB is going finance-wise but I seem to remember that the one in Niceville was running in the red until they added the paintball area.

And you probably do want to have a fee since you really do need at least one attendant for the area.

I believe that this issue has been addressed during the Operation Play Park meetings. JDarg, SGB, or Supermom will probably know for sure, but a small skate park or, skate boarding course, was on the wish list. I don't know if it was included in the final plans.

Why don't the kids just use Foley's? :lol: Some teens down the street from me set up a rail and ramp in the street every day. No one seems to be complaining about it.

This would be a free skate park. Like a football Field or baseball field. The only difference is it will get more use and less upkeep for the county. I really think our tax dollars should be put to use for something like this. We should have the same vision as Milton, Fl? Come on...:idontno:

A con from the County's perspective would be liability. They seemed to get over that fear by allowing the Dog Park to be built on County-owned property, but I think a skate park has more risk of injury than a dog park. Do you know how Milton, FL addressed their liability concerns? From what I understand, posting a sign and saying "skate at your own risk" doesn't eliminate liability.

A con from the County's perspective would be liability. They seemed to get over that fear by allowing the Dog Park to be built on County-owned property, but I think a skate park has more risk of injury than a dog park. Do you know how Milton, FL addressed their liability concerns? From what I understand, posting a sign and saying "skate at your own risk" doesn't eliminate liability.

There is a law that the senate passed that eliminates liability. It was designed specifically for skate parks. It was designed to encourage skate parks. The county will try to use the liability issue but that will not fly because it simply is not fact. The law that was pushed through encourages skate parks because kids will get injured when they do not have a place to skate. I have some info being emailed as I write this. I was told there was an area set aside at Helen McCall park for a skate park but the county seems to be dragging on this issue. SoWal would really take a step into the future if we were to get a real skate park!

Can the senate legally do that? Surely, it cannot be a complete blanket of protection. What happens if the park is not properly maintained and a kid gets paralyzed for life from an accident caused by the lack of maintenance performed by the County? (Just questions which will be asked.)

I bet you are right about the stats of injuries at skate parks vs illegal skating on public property like hand rails down staircases, benches in parks, etc.

Could you imagine the positive publicity SoWal would get if we took a positive step for the kids... Many kids are just not in tune with Football, baseball and soccer, especially in coastal areas. They like to surf and skate! 😀

counties always make that statement. back in the early early 90's I helped start what is now the Seaside Skate park. we did alot of the same lobby work in Seaside Oregon with enough people it can happen. Oregon is now a very hot spot for Public skate.

http://www.skateoregon.com/

check out the you tube of Seaside!

[nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9s39xaBk58&feature=related[/nomedia]

Can the senate legally do that? Surely, it cannot be a complete blanket of protection. What happens if the park is not properly maintained and a kid gets paralyzed for life from an accident caused by the lack of maintenance performed by the County? (Just questions which will be asked.)

I bet you are right about the stats of injuries at skate parks vs illegal skating on public property like hand rails down staircases, benches in parks, etc.

My buddy who just moved from here sat down with Cindy Meadows regarding these issues. He is actually a lawyer and pretty well versed on this issue. I just spoke with him and he is going to email me the info tonight. I guess the same would apply for a kid getting injured playing football on a state park field. Surely the liability issue would be just as great for a football injury versus a skating injury.

counties always make that statement. back in the early early 90's I helped start what is now the Seaside Skate park. we did alot of the same lobby work in Seaside Oregon with enough people it can happen. Oregon is now a very hot spot for Public skate.

http://www.skateoregon.com/

check out the you tube of Seaside!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9s39xaBk58&feature=related

Jim,
This is sooooo cool. Maybe we could get a group together and start talking about this. Your links are exactly what I am talking about!

I guess the same would apply for a kid getting injured playing football on a state park field. Surely the liability issue would be just as great for a football injury versus a skating injury.

I doubt it. Regarding the liability, I was speaking only about the maintenance issue. If someone stepped into a small hole on the football field, it likely won't lead to as severe an injury, especially since the players are wearing pads. Might end up with a twisted ankle or maybe a broken leg. However, if a kid on a skateboard hits a small rock which locks his wheels, and he flies off onto one of the concrete corners, or falls into the pit, 5 ft below, he is going to likely have some bad injuries.

I bring up the liability issue because I think it will be the largest obstacle to overcome. I am all for a skate park, especially if I can ride my mountain bike in it, like the kid in the photo.

Bobby, there is a really cool skatepark on the north side of downtown Asheville. I understand that they use sponsors to pay for it, but the property is owned by City of Asheville. They have a concession stand and a bit of advertising. Of course, the ads are for junk food, like Pepsi, RedBull, etc.

I'm sorry. I just don't get it. Whatever happened to kids finding a hill or making ramps and what not like we did when we were kids and used our imagination? I can understand constructing playgrounds for the area children, there's safe social interaction, lots sizes may inhibit a parent from installing a playground etc., but this seems over the top.
Also, why are area children not exposed to baseball and football? this seems like news to me.

Our county has limited recreation dollars that need to be spent on enhancing our family recreational sports and parks- like adding a play ground at Helen McCall, enhancing the football and baseball facilities there as well, supporting the new US98 Soccer venture, which will be the new recreational soccer program for SoWal, adding public tennis courts, a public swimming facility- these needs are met in communities first before things like skate parks. Skating may be popular, but the more mainstream recreational activities need to be in place first since that truly is what the majority of the families are participating in here.

Lots of kids get their athletic start in local recreational sports programs. High schools and colleges don't have skateboard teams.

My experience with skate parks has been a little more positive. I have heard and witnessed the exact opposite. Often times the skate parks are packed while the baseball and football fields sit empty. The reason many feel these are "mainstream" recreational activities is because kids have no where to skate. In California they have skate/ surf classes. More kids skate then play football/baseball. It does not seem over the top at all to me. It seems short sighted that we do not address this issue. In 2002, there were about 16 million skateboarders in the US. That number is up from 11.5 million skateboarders in 2000. In the year 2000, there were only 9 million little league baseball players in the US, and that number has declined 1% every year since. Skate Boarding has become more mainstream. I do not know of any high schools here that have skate board teams but they are not unheard of in other parts of the country. Does that mean we should not have a skate board park? If we had a skateboard park and then a skateboard team, I bet it would do better then our football team. Why? More kids skate! It is kind of a lost group of kids that we all just do not seem to want to understand. They do not fit in what society thinks is "mainstream" sports. Jdarg, I respect and believe your bad experience but not all skate parks have that history. I guess we can agree to disagree on this one. I just see a complete culture of kids getting pushed to the way side and would love to think that a county as unique as SoWal would do something a little more unique then another football/baseball field.

I doubt it. Regarding the liability, I was speaking only about the maintenance issue. If someone stepped into a small hole on the football field, it likely won't lead to as severe an injury, especially since the players are wearing pads. Might end up with a twisted ankle or maybe a broken leg. However, if a kid on a skateboard hits a small rock which locks his wheels, and he flies off onto one of the concrete corners, or falls into the pit, 5 ft below, he is going to likely have some bad injuries.

I bring up the liability issue because I think it will be the largest obstacle to overcome. I am all for a skate park, especially if I can ride my mountain bike in it, like the kid in the photo.

I know this issue is going to have mixed reviews and do not expect everyone to be all for it.
SJ, here is the summary:

Liability
a. To encourage the development of Skate-parks, the Florida Legislature passed Florida Statute 316.0085. This statute limits the liability of the government entity and codifies the ‘inherent risk’ and the ‘assumption of risk’ relating to skateboarding.

b. F.S. 316.0085 (4): “A governmental entity or public employee is not liable to any person who voluntarily participates in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling for any damage or injury to property or persons which arises out of a person's participation in such activity, and which takes place in an area designated for such activity.”

I think if a skate park in this area was properly managed or maintained it would go over VERY well. I'm 21 years old and have lived here for 15 years I've been skating for 9 of those years off and on. The only reason I never skated more consistently was due to the lack of proper facilities. If the park was properly gated and was operational from say 12pm to 6pm (maybe later with proper lighting?) it would keep vandalism and other malicious acts to a minimum. Skateboarding is beneficial in so many ways to our youth nothing but good could come of this. I'm in full support and ready to do anything it takes to fully back this...I'm also ready to get back on my board 🙂