Slog - Comments on City Skate Park Proposal Released http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop After almost a year of research, field trips and haggling with irate neighbors, the City's Skate Park Advisory Committee just released its proposals for the Skatepark Plan last night. Read the full thing here (it's 44 pages, but there's lots of pictures). The report lays out locations of 26 skate parks the City should build and makes nine major suggestions for procedure the City should follow. Topping the list are developing a city-wide criteria for siting skate parks and filling the gaps in the citywide skatepark system. They have some great ideas, I think, like making those kiddie wading pools... Copyright 2008 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:00:33 -0800 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:41:21 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Jeff Allow me to quote Fnarf from the Cycling post:

"Does the city have any other plans to accomodate other tiny, scofflaw minorities?"


]]> Jeff http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551402 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551402 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:36:11 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Well, if I'm going to be quoted, at least let me add that I think skateparks are a great idea. This seems like an overly ambitious plan, but it's relatively cheap for what you get, and it's a huge boon to the city. Skaters are cool, and kids need stuff to do that's not prohibited and not excessively organized by their parents every step of the way.

And no, I'm not a skater, and never have been. I've skated one time, on the board of one of the famous Bopo Boys about a million years ago, about twenty feet in total, and fell on my face.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551415 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551415 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:07:03 -0800 Comment by wf What happened to DIY?

]]> wf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551418 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551418 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:10:01 -0800 Comment by timebomb Jeff - More kids skateboard now than participate in organized Little League baseball yet how many baseball fields sit empty for 9 months of the year?

According to news reports, almost 50 skateboarders have been killed in the US by automobiles over the last 12 months.

Skateboarding can be practiced year round and skateparks provide a safe contained environment for the activity.

Also, the Marginal Way and River City links don't seem to be working.

]]> timebomb http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551419 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551419 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:10:28 -0800 Comment by Jeff OK, I was being a fuckstick and trying to play devil's advocate.

I love the idea of more kids getting into skaiting and the idea of little skate spots dotting our city is an awesome one.

However, painting all cyclists as unlawful scoflaws (as Fnarf did) is akin to saying all skaters are glue-huffing graffitti vandals. Neither is entirely true.

]]> Jeff http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551427 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551427 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:22:38 -0800 Comment by Fnarf The percentage of cyclists who disobey traffic laws is a hell of a lot higher than the percentage of skaters who huff glue. If I had to guess, I'd say "85% versus 0.1%".

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551434 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551434 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:30:57 -0800 Comment by Jeff Just wait, the neighborhood nimbys will start screaming about how skateboarders and graffitti go hand in hand (actually, they already have).

Your argument against cyclists has no basis in fact and is based on your own personal opinion. Just the same as the neighborhood nimby's who are trying to scuttle the Greenlake skatepark over noise concerns.

Get over it.

]]> Jeff http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551448 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551448 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:54:11 -0800 Comment by him This is a good idea. Plus, if you have a bunch of parks, it'll spread out the skaters and reduce each park's impact (ie, noise, graffiti, empty Elmer's glue bottle litter, etc.)

]]> him http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551460 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551460 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:09:20 -0800 Comment by The_Pope_Of_Chili_Town Damn whipper-snappers and their "skate parks." In my day we got chased out of the local mini-mart parking for skating, had to huff the propellant out of whip cream cans at work, and masturbated all alone while we wept. Now kids can do it all in one place (well maybe not the masturbating part).

]]> The_Pope_Of_Chili_Town http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551860 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c551860 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:46:33 -0800 Comment by charles Pope: FYI: the fred meijer in ballard sells whippits if you want to climb back on the horse.

]]> charles http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c552370 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c552370 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:20:33 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle skatepark plan link (first in blog) doesn't work in Firefox.

Looking forward to the one at Gasworks.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c552493 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/city_skate_park_prop#c552493 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:41:21 -0800