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| maseru-man |
 Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 8:45 am |
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Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 493
Location: Massachusetts - USA
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I've seen a lot of different skateparks - many that are thriving and others that are struggling, or have been closed. Too many seem like they were doomed from the start for a variety of reasons. Perhaps if the following were included - those closed parks might still be with us and the struggling parks might actually be thriving instead.
I apologize if this has been said before...but I've been mulling these points around in my head for awhile...and perhaps these are on the skatepark advocacy site but here's my take on what I think are some key requirements for a successful skatepark that can serve the community and be around for a long time!
Design it so that it is easy to learn new tricks
Why? If the park is designed so that people can easily learn new tricks - people will learn faster and kids will be better. The community and town will see the immediate value and benefit of the park. The park will have a broader support group, be better maintained, and "live longer"!
Ideally I'd expect to see a range of half-pipes (or 1/4 pipes at the very least)
with 7-8' radii with heights like: 2', 3 1/2', 5', 6', 8'.
I have found it is soooo much easier to learn a new trick when you start on a small ramp then once you got it - step it up a notch and move to a larger ramp. I finally got rock-to-fackies by starting out on a little 2' ramp then moved it up to a 3' mini-half then onto a 4 & 5' half. So much easier than trying to learn it on a 5 footer.
Design it so that there is an area that can be used for lessons
This gives the town a chance to offer skateboard lessons through its parks and recreation department in the spring and summer. It ties the park into the community. It provides a feeder to grow the number of skaters and supporters of the park. It gives the town a way to get revenue from their investment which will help justify the town budgeting funds every year to adequately support the park.
Design it so that it can host competitions
Give the locals a chance to shine. Give the parents a reason to come out and see the park and support their kids. All organized sports have games that get the parents involved - the more visibility the park has to the greater community the more it will be values and appreciated.
There is enough room for grand stands for spectators to see everything AND enough room for contestants to move around during events[/list]
Give the newspapers a reason to print stories about the park and put pictures of local kids in the paper. Would those articles be more positive than articles about kids trespassing or getting hit by a car downtown?
Design it to be used all year round
Please - put awnings either for rest areas or over the skating area to protect against sun in the summer or nasty winter or rainy weather at other times. Ever see some towns in the north that have covers over an outdoor hockey rink! That could drastically extend the usable time for a park. I think it is burnside in Oregon that is under a highway - excellent.
Provide Clean Bathrooms!
Ever notice how some mom's totally rate a place by the cleanliness of the bathrooms? If you get mom's on board supporting a place - you're golden. Lose them...and you drastically undermine your chances for a powerful support base! |
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| kirksucks |
| Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:19 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 5446
Location: EUREKA!
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good call. im a casual skate park goer at best but the park they built here is 90% 6-7 foot vert and an enclosed pool. theres no friggin way i'll be able to bust on that.
the street part pours you right into 6' vert. by street part i mean a 2 foot high rail thats part of another thing with a ramp on it. whatever you call it.
i cant learn how to do grind or slide tricks on that .. theres no way.
i heard it was co-designed by some local kid who does nothing but ride his bike on it and get aggro on the spine. thanks for the rocks asshole. |
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| mkelty |
| Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:35 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3644
Location: Springfield, OR
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Maybe I'm whining....
But if you're going to put in a pool, give a guy who just ate shit an ability to walk out of it. Nothing quite as fun as trying to clamber out of a 6' pool with a broken arm... 
You could walk out of the combi bowl, you could walk out the keyhole, so no cracks about it not being a serious Bowl if there's a channel or roll in somewhere...
San Rafael has a beautiful Peanut bowl...
...and it's a shame I can't ride it. The fucker's 7' deep and then 11' deep. Just not worth it... |
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| Chip DeLam |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:54 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 6965
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kirksucks wrote: get aggro on the spine.
The sk8park here is going to have a 6 foot spine for everyone to look at. i can't wait.  |
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| maseru-man |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:03 pm |
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Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 493
Location: Massachusetts - USA
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mister327 wrote: kirksucks wrote: get aggro on the spine.
The sk8park here is going to have a 6 foot spine for everyone to look at. i can't wait.
Sound like you need to read the Spines - Friend or Foe thread!
m-m |
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| auragreg |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:20 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 2382
Location: Highland, Michigan, USA, Earth
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I think a lot of designers need to step back and realize that 90% of the skateboard world is NOT THAT GOOD.
The designers have been skating all of their lives and are very good at what they do - but some are building parks that they find challenging. And challenging to them is far too much for the typical skater.
We all need challenges - but we need to work our way up.
I see this in snowboard parks too. All these great park designers are making 80' table tops and leaving nothing to start out on. Kids are hucking themselves to death. |
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| bondiboy66 |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:33 pm |
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Joined: 26 Jan 2005
Posts: 1846
Location: Aussiestan
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We get the same issues around here too (assuming the park has'nt been compromised in some way by dodgy builders). Take my local: the bowl is 6' shallow 11' deep and frankly its intimidating to most. For the rippers its great - check out the Vans site for footage of the Bondi Bowlarama to see the bowl being torn apart by the world's best.
The so called 'street' area is an oddball shaped thing (apparently looks like a shark from above so as to pay homage to the Aboriginal folks who lived in the area before being shifted aside by colonial settlers), with some nice transition features, some utterly useless features and even to just carve around its kind of hard to keep a good line going. The actual street obstacles like blocks or whatever are around the edges in such a fashion that its all too easy to lose a board into the transition bit, or indeed fall in yourself. Also, it really is a one person at a time setup - all the lines meet in the middle and when there are tons of kiddies there its a demolition derby. Parents letting their 4-5 year olds roll around the flat on their scooters adds to the mayhem. Its not learner friendly either.
Trust me when I tell you the park's designer is the subject of much ridicule and hate... |
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| missphitts |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:44 pm |
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Joined: 29 Jun 2006
Posts: 1452
Location: Dallas
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I never really thought about how burly the parks are designed these days...I just thought I was old and sucked.
Yeah I can see a real benefit in adding some smaller ramps and learning/beginner areas for oldtimers and kids alike.
I try to get in the 6' to 11' bowl sometimes and love carving it ,but trying much else is suicide for my skill level.
I find myself missing wooden ramps often and really do need to take the next step and build that back yard mini.
Work on the skills and then take what I've learned to the bowl.
Still just in it for the fun of it but it's more fun in my book when you can really rip!! |
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| backsidedisaster |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:56 pm |
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Joined: 09 Sep 2006
Posts: 685
Location: Alameda, CA
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I agree. I would really like to be able to take the tricks I can do on my ramp and try them at the park. I'm lucky if I can even lock into a 50-50 grind in the bowl at the Berkeley park. I am learning to carve a bit better in that thing though, frontsides just kill me.
I understand the need for some big ass shit at parks. Auragreg said it well, the majority of us are not that good! |
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| maseru-man |
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 9:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 493
Location: Massachusetts - USA
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bondiboy66 wrote: ..Take my local: the bowl is 6' shallow 11' deep and frankly its intimidating to most. For the rippers its great - check out the Vans site for footage of the Bondi Bowlarama to see the bowl being torn apart by the world's best.
I visited Bondi back in 2005 and skated that bowl. I have a permanent lump under my chin that I got at the Bondi bowl when my deck hit my chin!
bondiboy66 wrote:
The so called 'street' area is an oddball shaped thing (apparently looks like a shark from above so as to pay homage to the Aboriginal folks who lived in the area before being shifted aside by colonial settlers), with some nice transition features, some utterly useless features and even to just carve around its kind of hard to keep a good line going. The actual street obstacles like blocks or whatever are around the edges in such a fashion that its all too easy to lose a board into the transition bit, or indeed fall in yourself. Also, it really is a one person at a time setup - all the lines meet in the middle and when there are tons of kiddies there its a demolition derby. Parents letting their 4-5 year olds roll around the flat on their scooters adds to the mayhem. Its not learner friendly either.
Trust me when I tell you the park's designer is the subject of much ridicule and hate...
Here are pictures of Bondi - the park that bondiboy66 is talking about...
Below is me and bondiboy66 back in Aug 2005...
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