Skateparks for Everyone.
They are all over the place, popping up like baseball fields. This is the golden age of skateparks kiddies. Make sure you take advantage of it. News of eight new parks after the jump.
From the 10-10-06 Marshall Democrat-News – Marshall Missouri:
Skateboard park grand opening set for Oct. 28 The Marshall skateboard park has had its ups and downs, but the long-awaited grand opening celebration is almost here.
Skateboarders, of course, have not waited for the official opening to start making use of the facility… Stubblefield has noted that local skaters use the park regularly and it has also attracted visits from out-of-town skateboarders, including a professional skateboarding team that stopped by this summer.
All right! The locals are barging and the out-of-towners are using the old “We’re a professional skateboarders” trick. The pic at the top of this post is from the Marshall park. It does look like it’s in a cool setting.
From the 10-12-06 St. Helena Star – St. Helena, California:
Council briefed on skateboard park progress
Parks and Recreation Director Kathy Carrick and skatepark committee member Pam Smithers briefed the city council Tuesday on plans to design and build a skateboard park at Wappo Park on Pope Street, between the Napa Valley College upvalley campus and the Napa River.
From the 10-12-06 San Diego Union Tribune:
3 skate park sites endorsed Oceanside panel looks inland, as beach options irked many.
Despite the subject, no skateboarders showed up tell the commission where they wanted the parks. That was in sharp contrast to the 140 people who jammed the first in a series of community meetings on the parks this summer. Subsequent sessions also were well-attended.
Way to stay on top of things!
From the 10-13-06 Oregonian – Portland Oregon:
Portland opening a skateboard heaven Recreation – The skate park in North Portland is the first of its type that had an infusion of public money
Portland’s reputation as a good spot for skateboarding gains a little more street cred this weekend with the opening, or rather reopening, of a new skate park. Saturday’s ribbon-cutting at Pier Park will inaugurate Portland’s first such publicly funded site, a landmark of sorts in a city where some people ride their boards to work.
Well duh!
From the 10-13-06 Tillsonburg News – Tillsonburg, Ontario:
Skateboard park update coming soon An update on Tillsonburg’s skateboard park will be presented at the next town council meeting.
That’s right. This update is to tell you that there is an update coming.
From the 10-17-06 Seminole Beacon – Tampa Bay Florida:
City council ponders skateboard park
A potential skateboard park was a top issue discussed by the City Council at a Tuesday, Oct. 10, workshop. After all, building such a park was one key reason the 2006 City of Seminole Citizens Opinion Survey was done… The Citizens Opinion Survey’s executive summary stated, “A majority (60 percent) of the survey respondents believe that it would be a good thing for the city of Seminole to build a skateboard park for its residents while 20 percent see it as a bad thing.”
60% sadid good, 20%said bad. 20% didn’t care. I like those odds.
From the 10-18-06 Huntsville Times – Huntsville Alabama:
Skateboard park is set for major expansion City to start work Thursday on new features and repairs
Less than three weeks after Huntsville opened a new sand volleyball complex, the city is working to beef up another nontraditional recreational venue. The $106,200 contract with Dunlap Contracting Inc. will significantly increase the size of the park and add features that should appeal to a wider range of skating abilities, according to city officials. The park is dedicated to the late Lydia Gold, a major activist for the skateboard community. A $9,200 design contract with Huntsville-based Bird and Kamback Architects resulted in a plan that calls for adding “peanut bowl” and mini-ramp features and more flat concrete deck surfaces and sidewalks, repairing damaged surfaces, and building other new features such as “grind rails.” The park’s first phase included steps, rails, curbs and quarter-pipes for skate tricks… Other area skateboard venues include Insanity Park in Madison and Skate Meridian, an indoor park in a warehouse that formerly housed part of the old Lincoln Mill.
Good to see that sand volleyball is more popular than skateboarding. And of course, we’re always happy when an architecture firm gets a skatepark design contract to build bowls. Yeah, those will be great.
From the Hereford Times – Hereford England:
Crest could pay for skateboard park
A NEW skatepark could finally be built in Hereford thanks to a major housing developer.
They must excited. They capitalized “NEW.” Crest is not the toothpaste, but a local developer. I say that’s a good idea. Require the land developers build in recreation facilities (including skateparks) whenever they raise old developments or pave over farmland.
From the 10-11-06 West Seattle Herald – Seattle Washington:
New trail system efforts underway An effort is underway to create a trail system for pedestrians and bicyclists that would link up West Seattle’s most popular destinations.
The questionnaire also gets at whether people prefer walking, running, biking, inline skating or skateboarding.
People prefer skateboarding. You’re going to have to trust me on this one.
From WEAU – Eau Claire Wisconsin:
New Skate Park at Lakeshore Park in Eau Claire
On Tuesday, the Eau Claire City Council decided to back a vote to build a new skate park at Lakeshore Park in Eau Claire.
On the same web page as this story there is a link to a video titled “City Looks to Borrow Money for New Fire Trucks” – Hey, your house may burn down but at least you have a place to skate!
Looking at that top picture again, maybe it’s one of those dual use facilities cause it looks like an outdoor amphitheatre ready to stage a summer production of Hair or something.