3. Aggressive Skate ParkCITY OF
CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
MEMORANDUM
TO: Park & Recreation Commission
FROM: Todd Hoffman, Park & Recreation Director
DATE: July 23, 1997
SUB J:
Aggressive Skate Park
The commission has been corresponding with a group of young residents for a number of months
regarding "skating" opportunities in Chanhassen. Public endorsement of city run skate parks is
on the rise as documented in the July edition of the Parks & Recreation magazine. Copies of the
articles that I am referring to are attached. You may have already read them upon receipt of your
copy of the magazine. Proper planning is an essential ingredient in ensuring the success of these
facilities. With recent voter approval to remodel City Center Park, the timing is right to construct
a skate park in Chanhassen. I believe a facility in City Center Park is superior to any other site
due to its proximity to the central business community and the core of the city's population.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Park & Recreation Commission designate a skate park as a
component of City Center Park. Planning for the facility should be incorporated into the
Comprehensive Plan development detailing the renovation of City Center Park. Planning for the
facility should occur in the fall/winter of 1997/98 with construction to occur during the 1998
construction season.
ATTACHMENT
1. Park & Recreation Magazine Articles
13:
Kate Aanenson, Planning Director
Charles Folch, City Engineer
Scott Harr, Public Safety Director
g:\park\th\skatepark.doc
e see these kids everywhere. Flying through the parking lot,
down the sidewalk and up the'middle of the street For the six
e~thusiasts in this country, every inch of ce-
court and every obstacle is their hoop. And if
these no doubt you've seen the sign, "No
no matter how alluring a rail, bank or
Main Street USA may be to a skateboarder, it wasn't designed
which is why many skaters are viewed as unruly van-
dangers to themselves and the public. In response, local ordi-
skateboarding in commercial and public
ari~aS'. So even go so far as to restrict activity in resi-
do? While many will knowingly and will-
md march down to their city coun-
that's done for the baseball, soccer, bas-
with-
or injury. With the overwhelming success that
~ and r~eahon departments have had with city-run skateboard parks
lately, the growing trend is to honor their request.
i,./-.':'..'-'~ . ..~ : P& R J Ul Y ] 9 ~7 $ .5,5
Dispelling the Myth
Certainly, for any park and recreation
professional who begins the process of
planning or researching a public skate-
park, the issues of safety and liability are
of the greatest concern. How safe is this
sporL~ Is this going to bankrupt my city
with never-ending liability claims? Are
there actually people who know how to
rules
are additional safety park
and recreation practitioners can project
upon participants to reduce and minimize
injuries due to falls.
sics-helmet,
design these things? Not to worry, mu-
nicipal skateparks can be just as safe Cfi?''fits well and does
not safer) and just as much fun as any vision or ch~culafi0n. Learnin~ how to fall
other recreational activity we can offer, Properl½~:al~ mean the difference be-
without breaking the bank.
According to Jim Fitzpatrick, executive /~'i Albert Fier~6 3i, i]
director of the International Association "7~ciati0i~~ ~ Bay A~ea
of Skateboard Companies (IASC), hun-
dreds of skateboard manufacturers and P~'Corporation, a provider of' ·
companies supply American skateboard- al liability and property insUr'an~e
ers with the most contemporary equip- citie~in the San Franciso
ment available, contributing to yearly re- that e ~ssue
tail sales of more than half a billion dol- 'citie§have
lars. But for three decades, despite its skateboar~t ~ks, no6~
popularity, skateboarding has had to fight had any sk~teb6~ding
for recognition as a practical form of beganmng0f ~e insurance
Perhaps the most damaging prejudice Fierro said that he would like
is the notion that skateboarding is an un- cities take an affirmative step in providing
safe sport When compared ~to other skating areas in more public parks; areas
recreational activities, skateb0ffdinghas that are treated just like basketball
a smaller percentage of repor t~dhjUfies courts. One way Fierro hopes to achieve
per participant th 'othe( 'f Vi3':, this goal is to e pose the two-headed ii-
ties, including soccer (.93%)~g~b.3ill; ability beast" as a myth in the minds c
(2.25%) and basketball (1.4~6),:~.~t~gt . the uninformed.' :,-. '.~
According to the U.S. Consumer Prod- He offers some sugge~fi0nS
uct Safety Comrmssion (CPSC), ~aIll~ muuifies considering skateboard"
sons treated each year for sl~teboard re~ include skaters in the design pr0Ces~s;
lated mlunes, one-thn'd of the m~me~ ar.ei :. volve professional risk
suffered by new participani~t~'~ij;ii~'~ landscape architects
been skating for less thana~i,'6el~.'Wl~ile and implementation
proper safety equipment ~ vital to in- ion--open the park
jury--and liability--prevention, it is even
more important that new riders wear ad-
equate protective equipment While
are developing
Even though each facility has its own
fits all." The following testimonies prove
that you can have similar needs and still
have different rules, facilities and poli-
cies.
Huntington Beach, CA
Bill Fowler, superintendent of Recre-
ation and Human Services for the City of
Huntington Beach (CA), says that after
an ordinance prohibiting skateboarding
" in commercial areas was passed, it was
evident something had to be done. '~vVe
are about providing safe opportunities for
!:' everyone, not just the ones who play a
particular sport." It opened up the op-
portunity to work with a whole new pop-
ulation of youth.
Fowler's department oversees two city-
run skateparks. The Murdy Park
skatepark opened in August 1993, and the
other park, which is located on the cam-
pus of Huntington Beach High School,
opened in 1994. Each is free to use and
cost about 870,000 to build. They are both
"street" style parks, with concrete bench-
es, rails, curbs, and small ramps. The
specifically designed challenges of the
skateparks quickly lured the loiterers
from the shopping mall parking lots.
Four years later, Fowler describes the
end result as a win/win situation in what
was before thought to be a zero-sum
..~
game. Soon, police were expending less
time and resources chasing skateboard-
ers. They were working with the kids,
and in turn, the kids were feeling less an-
tagonized by the authority figures. If it
hadn't been for the police enforcing the
ordifi~nce in the first place, the park and
i~. recreation department might never have
' had the chance to get involved, and the
skaters wouldn't have a safe, legal place
to mee~..
Fowl~dds that the skateboarding
comm~s "positive mentality' really
helped ~ir cause, proving them to be
H~ 'tm~ton
a~ extremely
proven to
ry.' To
cerlq~
. ~There
aware (
even
en out any
for either
of which is
and
Coast
~, legal
sam~,~'as are the ~re-
ield. ~Tais gives the kids
~sa~r~ -Petito.
skateboard
use, and is
20. He
re-
~acilities
bari'ye
~.,They -are
process. Involve
else, Worm-
meet~ with local skaters and con-
Work best for the community.
the skaters are
to construct shapes that rep-
/:he' obstacles they want. Worm-
approach works
parks are both safe
~ park can't hold the interest
~ them there for
a
in developing
space consid-
b~' between 10,000 and
tO -step-out-'i
most co~ormble ~ &{eel:re~o:
concrete,
dmbili~
mfiom He~
.:.-'5FOR MORE
:'.. Wor~h~ud[i
no routine maintenance
:.. skaters ~;ealize ~a~ execssi-v~ littering, de-.
IRMATION
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y traps first appear to be.
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skate~ 'rake initiative m'
one of ~eir'uniq4e'-' ~ ''
~ me ac-
;time. b~
option
eveB more.
~e sho~ that
~pact the opera-
.at means
due to ma~ten~ce
down ~1 toge~er~it is
~ey ~1 be as responsi- ":'¢
as ~ey ~e about s~i-
will
'¸3
it als°
re'~tors and Sis°rts'bnthuSlaSis?
:~ :"e' 'iffs YOu thinka skate:;.
'skat~bo~i/ig is~ not'5 ;)?~5~55
"of the'streW. ·
"'states Co.sU mer ProduCt
mss,on (CPSC) s Narwhal
the Sp °rting Goods
,iff [Association, abstracted ;, 5 '(15
American SportS Anal~Sis. a