The challenge is not new. It has been common on the west coast since the mid-'70s. However, the answers communities are arriving at are new. There is a movement throughout the country to create appropriate environments for skating. One such solution is the skate park.
Typically, Illinois skaters have few alternatives to skating the streets of their villages and cities. Usually in conflict with a local ordinance, skaters risk life and limb skating stairways, handicap and parking ramps and other urban features.
Obviously, there are those in any community who object to such anarchy. Skaters are chased out of their favorite haunts by merchants and residents, and have nowhere to ply their trade. More and more park districts and communities are closely examining the need to serve the skating community and are looking into the possibility of building dedicated skate park facilities. These parks are best planned as a part of community system, centrally located to serve the entire community, and close to downtown areas.
SKATE PARK DESIGN
There are many different styles of terrain that can be created for skating, but generally they fall into three broad categories: free style, street course and "vert" or vertical areas. Much depends on the characteristics of the site for the park, and the budget for construction. A reasonable rule of thumb is that facilities should cost between $10 and $15 per square foot. This should include landscape screening and any fencing as well as the skating surface.
The International In-Line Skating Association makes a few suggestions for design:
• Expect all levels of ability. Areas for novice and beginner users as well as intermediates and experts should be incorporated.
• There should be enough room for events and the terrain should be safe for skating.
• Placement of the facility should not threaten users or neighbors.
• Skate parks should be easily accessible for the majority of the participants who are ages 8 to 17.
• Incorporate a minimum of four to five different types of runs/routes for participants, which include both freestyle (bowls) and street course (fun box) obstacles.
• Most importantly, skaters' opinions should be considered when designing the layout of the skate park. Designers should listen to user groups as users are "the authorities."
The September 1997 issue of Thrasher magazine includes the article "How to Build a Skate Park," which
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FEATURE ARTICLE
suggests using the following important design features:
1. Flat bottom
A skate park design must have a minimum of 10 feet of flat bottom between obstacles and opposing transitions.
Skateboarders generate speed by pumping up and down the transitions and can carry speed for good distances
across flat, smooth concrete. Maximum flat bottom area allows more skateboarders to skate simultaneously and
avoid collisions.
2. Lips, edges and coping
Skaters are looking for edges they can grind or slide on when they get to the top of a wall. A protruding edge
grinds well and protects edges from wear.
3. Street obstacles
Everyday street elements should be included in modem design. These include rails, curbs, walls and step features.
LIABILITY
Risk management is a primary concern among park districts and others considering skate park development. The Park District Risk Management Agency of Illinois (PDRMA) provides insurance and risk management techniques for park districts, including skate park risk assessment. Kevin Hoffman, ARM, Loss Control Manager with PDRMA says that the risk involved with in-line skating and skateboarding is not as high as other leading recreation activities.
The International In-line Skating Association has gathered injury information for many sports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Sporting Goods Association (1994):
|
Sport |
# of Injuries (000) |
Injuries (/000) |
|
hockey |
82 |
37.2 |
|
football |
424 |
27.2 |
|
baseball |
404 |
26.8 |
|
basketball |
716 |
25.4 |
|
bicycling |
604 |
12.1 |
|
roller skating |
146 |
10.4 |
|
horseback riding |
71 |
7.4 |
|
skateboarding |
25 |
5.2 |
|
in-line skating |
76 |
3.9 |
Although skate boarding generates fewer injuries than other sports, Hoffman recommends taking several key risk management precautions to insure a safer skate park. PDRMA recommends explicit signs addressing park rules and regulations. The use of appropriate safety equipment such as helmets, hand, elbow, and knee pads should also be stressed. Ramps and other obstacles should be built under strict specifications. Peer and user review is necessary to ensure that facilities are suitable for the use intended. Once constructed, inspection of the facility and its structures should occur on a daily basis, and appropriate maintenance should be performed.
Park districts should also consider supervision of the park or requiring a signed waiver to enter the park, which could reduce exposure to liability. A good comparison is treatment of pools in park situations, where building codes require fence protection, and where strict rules of use apply. Curiously, direct supervision of facilities by park district staff may actually increase liability by creating an assumption that the staff will prevent all accidents or inappropriate uses. Park districts should carefully consider these issues in formulating an operational plan for their facilities, and work with their risk management advisors.
SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHED PARKS
There are a number of successful skate park facilities throughout the western United States in Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and California. California remains at the vanguard of design with facilities in Huntington Beach, Temecula, Santa Rosa, Palo Alto and Pleasanton. Participants at these skate parks enjoy a variety of facilities, and they represent a virtual evolution of the sport. The facilities range in size from about 6,000 square feet in Palo Alto and Huntington Beach to over 40,000 square feet in Temecula.
While facilities exhibit differences in style, they are all built in concrete for durability. Most parks enjoy high levels of use, with users coming from a wide area. Some communities have even contemplated development of separate parks devoted to skateboards and to in-line use.
SKATE PARKS IN ILLINOIS
There are at least five privately run skate parks in New Lenox, Rockford, Hoffman Estates, McHenry and Springfield. Most of these are indoor facilities with wooden ramps. Illinois has few public skate park facilities now, however, many communities are expressing interest in becoming part of the solution for skate boarders.
Thompson Dyke and Associates along with the Deerfield Park District are in the initial stages of constructing a public skate park. Several public meetings and user workshops have been used to educate the policy makers in the community, and to develop the consensus that a need exists. The Deerfield park is scheduled to open in the summer of 1998. Several other Illinois park districts are in the planning stages of skate park development.
Skate parks will work in Illinois. There isn't a week
16 / Illinois Porks and Recreation
DESIGNING "TOTALLY AWESOME" SKATE PARKS
that goes by that PDRMA doesn't get an inquiry about them. For a skate park to work, not only should risk management agencies and landscape architects be consulted, but skaters should be involved. Visit a skate park to see how participants respond. Skaters will have good ideas on what they would like, and what they have experienced. Incorporate their design ideas into your plan. Skate park development represents a real opportunity to serve a traditionally hard-to-reach constituency, and at the same time fulfill your role as a park district: providing recreational facilities for the entire community.
Above: The Deer field Park District Skate Park is designed to serve both expert and novice skateboarders and in-line skaters. Features include a 7-foot-deep bowl, funbox, 20-foot grinding rait and truncated pyramid.
R. GORDON LEEDY, JR., ASLA,
is vice president and director of design at Thompson Dyke & Associates, Lid. (TD&A). TD&A specializes in all aspects of park design including skate board parks, parks and playgrounds and open space master planning.
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