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City governments across the country are realizing that in order
to successfully contribute to society at large, they must
provide recreational resources suitable not only for the
community, but also for visiting skaters and their families. The
best skateparks are areas whose designs mimic the elements that
skateboarders find in backyard pools and on city streets.
Since its inception in the early 1970′s, skateboarding has
always set a precendent for creativity and individuality. In the
last few years, the momentum has picked up significantly and
communities are starting to see the need for providing local
individuals with a place to skate. Skaters will always find a
place to have a session, it’s just a matter of determining
whether the city is going to support their activity or continue
to object to street skating as many communities still do. Many
cities are waking up to the fact that public skateparks are a
necessary part of the local community.
How a community funds a public skatepark varies in many ways.
Some skateparks receive funding from local organizations in
support of recreational ameneties and sometimes funding comes
from local support and grass-roots fundraising. Some companies
will donate materials for the project as a tax write-off. Ad
space is sometimes auctioned off in order to secure additional
funding. Most public skateparks are constructed with a
combination of grant money and money raised by the community.
Most of the hard work put into getting a community to consider a
public skatepark comes from advocates who labor intensiveley get
these projects pushed thru the local governments. Sometimes,
these advocates aren’t even skateboarders. One advocate, a
retired businesswoman and City Councilwoman took up the fight
for public skateparks when her grandson noted his frustration
with simply trying to find a pace to skate. Cities put so much
public effort and tax-dollars into city parks and other
recreational facilities, someone just needs to point them in the
right direction and get them to realize that public skateparks
provide a place for local skaters to have fun and stay out of
trouble. This keeps most skaters off the streets and gives them
an area where they can perfect their skills and enjoy
themselves. The value is inarguable to the community.
Building a public skateparks doesn’t necessarily mean the
community understands all the aspects of being socially
responsible. Part of the understanding comes from learning how
to best manage these facilities. Westminster Skatepark in
Wesminster, Colorado reversed its ‘Helmets Required’ rule once
city officials realized that staying hands-off actually
decreased their liability. Exerting too much control requires
the city to enforce their own rules which ends up costing even
more money. Enforcing such rules at some public skateparks would
be next to impossible. The Denver Skatepark, at over 60,000
square feet is the largest of its kind in the country, does not
require pads and has not reported any injuries. This is
attributed to most skaters knowing that they are skating at
their own risk. Relaxing the rules can be more beneficial to
eveyone because the city is balancing what the skaters want and
an acceptable amount of risk the city is willing to assume
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Free Skateparks Fulfill Social Responsibility
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