By Allegra Papera
Staff Writer
Manhattan Beach should agree to create a local skate park to accommodate the city’s local skaters with a place to practice. After more than ten years of meetings regarding the creation of a skate park in Manhattan Beach, the project is finally being seriously considered.
Since 2001, the city’s parks and recreation center has hosted meetings for its locals to share proposal opinions regarding a possible skate park. Within the past two years, the consideration has become something more serious with the incorporation of Stantec’s Action Sports Team’s Kanten Russell as a possible designer of the park.
On Tuesday, September 8, Russell provided Community Input Meeting attendees with a presentation of possible skate park designs and locations. Russell presented three locations for a skate park; Marine Avenue Park, Manhattan Heights Park, or El Porto, each having positive aspects that would outdo those of makeshift skate spots around the city.
While these community oriented meetings mainly revolve around the possibilities for a skate park, citizens are given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the matter. The inclusion of locals in the meeting allows for an accurate presentation of the benefits a local skate park would have.
In the community, there are kids, teenagers, and even adults who are constantly searching to find a place to skate. According to Dylan Lombardo, skater and junior at Mira Costa, the incorporation of a skate park in the community would benefit him and all of the people that skate there so they have somewhere to skate and progress in skating.
Those who look to advance in skating have to drive to or rely on rides to skate parks all over Los Angeles County, since Manhattan Beach does not offer an appropriate location for them. This inconvenience impedes local skaters and locals who want to try skating from doing so in the right environment.
Without a designated area to skate, people are forced to use regular street spots to skate, despite the fact that they may be kicked out by police. According to Lombardo, popular skate spots in Manhattan Beach include the library, police station, Metlox, and MBMS. The addition of a skate park would allow community members to participate in their hobby without having to worry about being asked to leave by authority figures at these spots.
Non-skater adults showed up at the meeting regarding their concern of the city’s liability for injury, noise, supervision, and park locations. All of the attendees with opinions opposing the creation of a skate park were either worried seniors or parents. Often though, the concern regarded things that did not directly affect those concerned. These people only affect skaters negatively as they battle against their hopes for a skate park.
Citizens questioned what kind of supervision would be provided at the skate parks. In addition, attendees questioned the noise that might be made by skaters throughout the day. Others suggested that a skate park should not be created at all as it might bring in people from other cities. While the concerns regarding supervision may be valid, that regarding out-of-town visitors is completely unimportant considering Manhattan Beach’s already acquired reputation as a tourist destination.
Regarding the suggested supervision at the skate park, kids cannot be stopped from acting out whether they are being overseen or not. Concerning sound, the park will be made of cement, reducing its sounds and it will be enclosed enough to mute it.
The problem with these adults protesting against the possibility of a local skate park, is that they are taking away from those pursuing their passion. Whether these skaters are locals or people from out of town, they should be able to express themselves at a location designated to their passion.
The proposal to create a skate park should become a reality, as it will enable those who love to skate to do so in a more progressive environment.
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