Skate Park

[peapod1980]

Our city has both a skate park and a bike park. The bike park was added afterwards due to the popularity of the skate park and a need for a place for the BMX crowd. L'il Pea has used the skate park from day one, and we've spent a fair amount of time there watching all the kids. He's not a constant fixture there by any means, but it gives him a place to skate that's not the street, which is OK by me. I can't say what sort of problems our city has encountered by having these; I've heard things here and there, but I don't get the idea it's a major problem. My personal feeling is that the "wrong" kid can make the safest activity a dangerous one; it's all in the doing.
I probably have a more positive attitude toward individual sports than team sports, if I'm completely honest. Why are the football and baseball fields empty these days? Because parents are putting their kids into "select," traveling teams, and participants in city/county/local leagues often dwindle accordingly. A lot of kids who don't make the cut for the elite teams then choose not to play at all out of embarrassment and/or disappointment.
I can't say if a skate park is right for Sowal, but it's at least worth a look-see.
I c&p'd the information from our city's website, just f.y.i.:

Where can I skateboard in the city?
Skateboard Park is located at 709 North 2nd. This area has been designed to provide skaters with a moderate challenge for recreation purposes to help develop their skills. It is not possible to design and build a skate or skateboard facility without hard surfaces. The same hard surfaces that challenge the skater pose significant risk of injury if the skater falls. Park hours are listed under "Rules."

WARNING! This facility is unsupervised. Users assume all risks inherent in the use of this facility. Use may result in serious injury. The City of Belleville assumes no liability for injuries sustained.

Safety Equipment. We strongly urge all skaters and skateboards to wear: protective helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, wrist pads. All parents should require their children to wear this protective equipment while using this facility. Failure to wear protective equipment will expose users to bone fractures, concussion and other serious injury upon falling or collision with other users.

Park rules are:

• No glass containers, food, or beverage allowed on the skating surface. Spills jeopardize the skaters.
• No other items such as benches, tables, wood materials, or other objects used as ramps or jumps are allowed in the skate park facility.
• No pets are allowed in skate park area.
• No skating against traffic on ramps or pipes.
• Do not proceed down a ramp until clear of other skaters.
• Hours of permitted use are from 7:00 a.m. to sundown. It shall be unlawful for any other person to enter or remain on the premises outside the hours posted. (Section 31-1-1)
• No bicycle or scooter usage in skate park area.
• Only skateboards and in-line skates are permitted.
• Alcohol, tobacco, and or drugs are prohibited.

Please remember to skate with safety in mind and remember weather conditions may create unsafe surfaces for skating. Please report maintenance concerns to the Parks and Recreation Office: 618-233-1416. Messages can be left 24 hours per day.
Belleville has a skateboard park. Is there a similar facility strictly for bike riders?
Citizens Park has a biking facility. The address is 341 Citizens Park Drive. This area has been designed to provide bikers with a moderate challenge for recreation purposes and to help develop their skills. It is not possible to design and build a biking facility without hard surfaces. The same hard surfaces that challenge the biker pose significant risk of injury if the biker falls. Park hours are listed under "Rules."

WARNING! This facility is unsupervised. Users assume all risks inherent in the use of this facility. Use may result in serious injury. The City of Belleville assumes no liability for injuries sustained.

Safety Equipment. We strongly urge all bikers to wear: protective helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, wrist pads. All parents should require their children to wear this protective equipment while using this facility. Failure to wear protective equipment will expose users to bone fractures, concussion and other serious injury upon falling or collision with other users.

Park rules are:

• No glass containers, food, or beverage allowed on the biking surface.
• No other items such as benches, tables, wood materials, or other objects used as ramps or jumps are allowed in the bike park facility.
• No pets are allowed in bike park area.
• No riding against traffic on ramps or obstacles.
• Do not proceed down a ramp until clear of other bikers.
• Hours of permitted use are from 7:00 a.m. to sundown.
• Only bikes are permitted.
• Alcohol, tobacco, and or drugs are prohibited.

Please remember to ride with safety in mind and remember weather conditions may create unsafe surfaces for riding.Please report maintenance concerns to the Parks and Recreation Office: 618-233-1416. Messages can be left 24 hours per day.

 

[acsuttondesign]

From a skater kid all grown up...

I gotta say, I really enjoyed reading this thread.... I don't how old you guys are, where you are coming from, etc. I grew up in Houston TX in the 80's when the 2nd wave of skateboarding popularity hit. I have to admit, I was pretty good. I remember getting a "pro" skateboard for Christmas when I was 7 years old. That was one of my most memorable gifts. Skateboarding for me was a blast. I played just about every other sport growing up too, but skateboarding was the only sport I really enjoyed for a long time. It was less about competition and more about hanging out with your friends and having a good time. When I was a little older, I moved to West Texas. We had an indoor skatepark that lasted about 4 months. I went there once a week with a few buds and it was a blast! When it shut down I was so frustrated that I decided to build a half pipe in my back yard. I'm 27 now and I don't skate much anymore due to all my friends getting too old for it or something hah!

Here's the deal, my buds and I were just regular kids. We were not "punks" or "vandals". We never trashed the places we skated. We never started fights with other skaters. We did encourage each other, which I never got from my high school coaches. We had BBQs in my backyard. We sat around and talked atop the ramps when we were tired. We knew our limits and never got more than a mildly sprained ankle!! If you build a skate park out there, you will be some kid's hero. You would definately have been mine!

Some of my favorite high school memories are skateboarding with my buds at that skatepark that lasted only 4 months.

Take care, Aaron

 

[Diane4145]

Great to hear your thoughts, about the skate park thread! My sons skated lots too, when they were younger! There father lived in this area, so they were here and had many friends, to skate and hang out with. They never really got into trouble(that I was aware of), just enjoyed being active, etc. I'm aware that they and others seen in this thread, would LOVE, for a park to be built! Hopefully, we will see that happen!

From a skater kid all grown up...

I gotta say, I really enjoyed reading this thread.... I don't how old you guys are, where you are coming from, etc. I grew up in Houston TX in the 80's when the 2nd wave of skateboarding popularity hit. I have to admit, I was pretty good. I remember getting a "pro" skateboard for Christmas when I was 7 years old. That was one of my most memorable gifts. Skateboarding for me was a blast. I played just about every other sport growing up too, but skateboarding was the only sport I really enjoyed for a long time. It was less about competition and more about hanging out with your friends and having a good time. When I was a little older, I moved to West Texas. We had an indoor skatepark that lasted about 4 months. I went there once a week with a few buds and it was a blast! When it shut down I was so frustrated that I decided to build a half pipe in my back yard. I'm 27 now and I don't skate much anymore due to all my friends getting too old for it or something hah!

Here's the deal, my buds and I were just regular kids. We were not "punks" or "vandals". We never trashed the places we skated. We never started fights with other skaters. We did encourage each other, which I never got from my high school coaches. We had BBQs in my backyard. We sat around and talked atop the ramps when we were tired. We knew our limits and never got more than a mildly sprained ankle!! If you build a skate park out there, you will be some kid's hero. You would definately have been mine!

Some of my favorite high school memories are skateboarding with my buds at that skatepark that lasted only 4 months.

Take care, Aaron

 

[Bobby J]

I hope to pull together a committee on this soon. This will need to be a "team" effort. I hope everyone that posted in favor will be involved if possible. If you would like to be involved, post and I will contact or send pm.

Thanks,

 

[Franny]

My step son LOVES to skate! We have taken him to the place in PCB and there were never any problems and I do not know of any injuries from skating. Not like growing up with friends that routinely were injured playing football. My sil's brother walks with a cane because of the injuries he received palying football in hs and college. The most awesome park I have seen is located in Orlando. It is probably private, have no clue, but it is enclosed and the skaters have what looks like swimming pools to skate in. Very clean and it was the same as going into a ymca, very safe. I hope this works out for all you skate boarders!!

 

[Diane4145]

Great info, Franny!Now this, is the way to do a skate park!http://www.orlandoskatepark.org/information.html

My step son LOVES to skate! We have taken him to the place in PCB and there were never any problems and I do not know of any injuries from skating. Not like growing up with friends that routinely were injured playing football. My sil's brother walks with a cane because of the injuries he received palying football in hs and college. The most awesome park I have seen is located in Orlando. It is probably private, have no clue, but it is enclosed and the skaters have what looks like swimming pools to skate in. Very clean and it was the same as going into a ymca, very safe. I hope this works out for all you skate boarders!!

 

[supermom262]

Bobby, I got info on a skate park, which I gave to the mission playpark committee. I'm not sure who has it now, maybe Cindy Meadows has it. It was a catalog of the different components needed for a full blown skate park as well as a "skate spot" which was on our list for the park at Helen McCall. I spoke to the sales person, who would love to come out and talk about skate parks and what is needed.

As SGB and Jdarg stated, we need more park land to accomodate the things we are lacking that most communities have: Playgrounds, a competitive pool, tennis courts, and a skate park. We currently have none of them! I wish the purchase, planning, development and construction moved more quickly.

 

[amp in srb]

Hi all,

I'm new to the area and glad to be here. I'd be even more happy if there was a skatepark. Skateparks, well built concrete ones, are a boon for communities across the country. I personally have been to over a hundred across the states and more in other countries. I have traveled hundreds of miles specifically to skate, regardless of where, as many skateparks are in localities distinctly lacking any other attraction. Donald, OR, pop. 978 or so, has an excellent skatepark, which by the way is almost always occupied 24/7/365. I can't say the same for their football field.

I have been skating for over 20 years, 20 years that has shaped me greatly. I am a social worker (focusing on foster care and child/adolescent mental health) with a graduate level education, who has utilized skating in both my personal and professional life. Skating is transformative. Many call it an individual sport. Well, no, that is not entirely the case. Sure it is an individual activity but the connection that you get with other skaters and the act itself, whether at a park, in the street, or in the backyard, are meaningful and can strengthen community and culture. Skating influences art, music, literature and so many other facets of our world.

This area is perfect for a park.

Having read this post I noticed the normal major concerns regarding public skateparks. Namely, injuries. Having helped in the development of more than a handful of public parks I have seen this argument played out statistically, personally, legally and more often than not very irrationally. Sure, skating can hurt, it can disable and cause serious injury. I personally know some who died while skating. However, the same can be said for pretty much any other activity. There are hundreds already existing around the country and more being built each day. Obviously, liability can be dealt with. There are rather simple public policies that can be put in place that can stifle any lawsuit happy parents. My favorite is in California, where they ruled skateboarding as a hazardous activity and one cannot sue after injuring oneself while skating. Sure I simplified the law but there are many other methods of dealing with this issue.
Arguments against skateparks from a public health viewpoint are rather ludicrous.

Money is always an issue as well. I live south of the bay and work far north of the bay. As a social worker I deal with community fiscal issues regularly and have some opinions on the state of Walton County financial concerns. I really cannot, with a straight face, listen to financial concerns in sowal. Sure, public budgets are always tight and getting tighter, but there is money here. Lots. 30A Radio just earned roughly 13k in a few hours. Alys Beach can turn a profit for a cause. We can't do that for a recreational activity for walton county kids??????

I personally/professionally know many kids who need something to do. Trust me they need something.

The major flaw with most parks, is the lack of finding the best people to build them. Localities often go for the lowball bid, unqualified contractors with no skating history, or they go with wood parks. Quality concrete parks are easily maintained, skaters themselves will often apply the bondo when needed. I have.

Florida, lucky us, has teampain.com who have built epic parks across the world, including Milton, FL. grindline.com has built in FL (my personal fave) dreamlandskateparks.com are excellent as well.

Well, I'm going to stop writing, I just saw the postings and had to say something. I hope to DO something.

WHAT'S NEXT????????

 

[BrownEyedGull]

http://brookrunskateboardpark.com/


Check out this skate park in Atlanta - the above site is all about the skate park part, but there are playgrounds there with this soft rubber surfacing that is really cool. Just a little more info on another skate park that I thought I would share with you guys.
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[Smiling JOe]

Sign posted at the new Freeport City Park, still shows skate park on the sketch. Construction has begun on the park, but I cannot see signs of the skate park being constructed at this time.