The Donald. Get it? No, get it? Went to Donald today for the first time in over a year. Had a lot of fun. It looks like they are getting ready to add something on to the mini pipe section. Met three guys up visiting from Santa Cruz. More pictures after the jump.

From the forums at Skateboard.com.au comes these two different approaches to stopping skateboarding. The first one on the left is from Mother Nature who dumped a ton or two of sand on Bondi skatepark during recent storms. Bondi is a costal town, in case you haven’t guessed. On the right we have man made bureaucracy and the most elaborate skate stoppers I’ve ever seen. They don’t want kids grinding rails or even ollieing over them. For more pictures, follow the photo credits. [Photos: Snakeos and Morgs]

Here it is everyone, the new park at Vancouver. It is a Grovers Korner Exclusive, first to ride. Enjoy and barge That’s what Ivan, Rich and I did. One of the workers for the city told us the park will not open until the whole complex is done (a year) but we don’t care because we barge. ( I can’t condone that statement. I almost didn’t let this post go live. The whole park complex is scheduled to open in 2008 but the skatepark should open at the end of this month, unless the city is annoyed by bargers! – K.Ed )

Troy Sliter sent in some pictures from a recent road trip he took to New Mexico. I’ve never skated there, have you? I like the look of that ditch, that’s for sure.

Hey. It’s summertime. The weather is nice. We’re out skating. This shot was taken in April of 2006 at West Linn Oregon. Don’t know who that is. I’ve been known to hang out with those two nerds in the background…

OK, I don’t know if they are actually anarchists or not, but Flora Skatepark is being built behind a building called the Rote Flora in Hamburg, Germany that currently has strong ties with squatter and left-wing groups. Do right-wing squatters exist? The Rote Flora was one of the few theaters in Germany to survive WWII intact. According to Wikipedia, it was used as part of a department store from the 70’s until 1987. Here’s where it gets murky. For some reason there was an uproar by local shopkeepers and and “autonomous groups” (Anarchy!) when a producer wanted to turn it back into a musical theatre. There were clashes with police, and ultimately most of the building was torn down in 1988, only to be renovated and squatted in, leased and un-leased, made a focal issue in an election year, etc… The point is, most renegade concrete projects tend to be located in spots that don’t attract attention. Maybe this one will succeed in finding a permanent location precisely because the adjacent property has such a volatile “hands-off” history. The end result… Opening party for the first part of Flora Skatepark is June 30th, 2007. Thanks to Peter Diepes for the…

Err… The Doctor is here to investigate Seaside Oregon’s new skatepark, with the studies and the data, the gluteus maximus and minimus, and so on and so forth. Oh oh, I hear someone coming. I have to leave…

Last night was the meeting for comments on a revised Gabriel Park skatepark design. Turnout was weak, about 20-25 actual park users at best, a couple of them being BMX riders. There is an online comment form on the parks web site, but it’s kind of premature to comment on the park unless you were at the meeting. The single render available is not very good for understanding the actual design. At the meeting we saw it rotated and zoomed in, and it’s actually a lot different than this picture would lead you to believe. For instance, from this view it looks like it’s all covered in coping, but it actually only has coping in some spots. Update: More renders available here. Parks will add them as soon as their schedule permits. It’s important to note, the double funnel is still a possibility, either as is or in combination with alterations from the second design. Double funnel renders after the jump as well. Please try to think of the big picture when you make your comments. Street Skaters: A street plaza is planned for the very next project, which is Ed Benedict Park. Please refrain from comments like “This should…

When your alarm goes off at 7am, and your waking up to go skateboarding, you sit there for a few seconds- thats when the voice chimes in “ARE YOU CRAZY?” Well, that is the voice I heard when I woke up. Coffee becomes the savior, and so does a peak outside to see bluebird skys. That’s when I get it in gear and drive to the West Linn Skatepark.

Last weekend,as threatened, a couple of us went to check out the new Placed to Ride skatepark in Seaside Oregon. Drinving out from Portland, the weather looked like it was going to be a crap shoot. Luckily, although the pictures are all gray and it did sprinkle and mist several times throughout the day, down time was never longer than ten or fifteen minutes. The sporadic moisture kept the crowds at bay. The downside is that the session was not particularly heated so you’ll be getting a lot of general park overview shots. Check it out.