| Ride the New Wave: Skatepark design for the 21st Century |
| SOURCE : Recreation Management Magazine DATE : February 2008 BYLINE : Kate Bongiovanni |
Skateboarding isn't all about ollies, bunnyhops, grabs and grinds anymore. Just as the tricks are fascinating
to the eye, so are the designs of the parks housing the urban and suburban tricksters.
With skateboarding on the constant rise—12 million skateboarders and counting in a $2.8 billion industry
according to 2006 survey results from BoardTrac—skateparks are springing up to accommodate the sport's
growth. John Bernards, executive director of the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC),
said that there are about 2,500 skateparks with more to come because they can be used yearlong and require
little upkeep compared to a Little League ballpark that might cost $5,000 a month to maintain yearlong but is
not in use each month.
And while most of the skateboarding population is made up of kids, adults are catching on to the craze. Market
research in 2006 from BoardTrac found that 94.8 percent of skateboarders were male with 47 percent ages 12
to 15 and 22.8 percent ages 16 to 19. Bernards said that the IASC is seeing a regeneration of skateboarding
among 30-year-olds. "After kids go through college, start having kids, parents are out with their kids," he said.
It also helps that there's talk of putting skateboarding in the Olympics—not to mention the large following
garnered by the X Games.
With all the skateboarders rolling through the streets—77 percent of skateboarders skate in the street
according to a 2005 report, Bernards said—many cities have recognized a need to build skateparks. Yet these
skateparks aren't one in the same. Each incorporates the needs of the skateboarder while considering the
community's needs as well.
Skater-designed
What would a skatepark be without the input of the skateboarder? Miki Vukovich, executive director of the Tony
Hawk Foundation, which helps create free, quality public skateparks in low-income areas, said that
skateboarders' involvement helps build more parks. "We consider a city's skatepark the first of many," he said.
"We're convinced that local leaders only need to build the first one, at whatever size, the right way, in the right
place, with skaters involved to be sure it's what they want to skate, and the success of that park will encourage
them to build the next."
Chief Financial Officer of the Washington Street Skatepark in San Diego Thomas Claypool said the park is
"skater-designed, -built, -operated and -maintained." Skaters built the park when no skateparks existed in San
Diego, then fought to keep the park legally by forming a nonprofit organization to administer the park and
having blueprints approved. Claypool said the park was designed very carefully and has all the terrain options
you could want if you are creative.
Much like Washington Street, Philadelphia's Paine's Park project along the Schuylkill River, a city park with
urban features that will be skateable, also has a nonprofit organization fueling its progress. Anthony Bracali,
principal at Friday Architects/Planners, lead design firm for the project, explained that his firm had a contract to
design the skatepark for the city of Philadelphia, with the nonprofit acting as a consultant.
Bracali spent two years working with skateboarders through community meetings, questionnaires and design
work to develop a feasible design for the space, creating an urban space with skateable elements. While the
idea of Paine's Park was to create a legal space to skateboard (unlike Love Park, which has been a popular
skating destination), Bracali said he tried not to replicate anything. "We were trying to create a design unique to
its site and context," he said.
At the same time, the design process had to change to make the park comfortable for all. "The way most
skateparks are being designed, the whole process for designing them is a flawed process because they're
being designed around a model that's all about skating terrain," Bracali said. "They don't deal at all with the
kinds of other amenities skateboarders need in a skatepark to be comfortable. And that was one of the
reasons that Love Park was so attractive to skateboarders."
Bracali explained that Love Park had the terrain skateboarders sought, but also the amenities and attractions
that made it a design for the people—like places to sit, shaded areas, a water feature, connections to the
neighborhood around it and great views of the surrounding area. "Those were things we tried to address with
the project we did here," he said.
Skateparks for the skate stranger
Skateparks across the country offer a variety of features that can appease the skateboarder, as well as the
non-skateboarder.
"Terrain means something different to a designer and a skateboarder," Bracali said.
But some of the common terms all skateboarders toss around the park fall into three categories according to
Site Design Group, a company specializing in skatepark design and construction:
* Street terrain: curbs, ledges, planters, stairs and handrails
* Street course: pyramids, banks, ledges and quarter-pipes
* Vertical transitional: vert walls, pools and bowls
While Bracali's design is for a street-style park, he said there is a 50-50 split between street and transition-
style parks. "The transition style skatepark is growing again," he explained.
Skate plazas utilize real urban architecture like benches, railings and public spaces to meet the needs of
skateboarders as well as pedestrians. Until skateboarders were banned from the space in 2002, Love Park in
Philadelphia served as an urban plaza for skateboarders.
Flow courses have terrain available for all styles, ages and abilities of skaters with terrain defined as street,
street course and vertical transitional. The terrain ranges in style and degree of difficulty.
Concrete skateparks tend to be built in the ground and are the most popular constructed today because of
durability for less maintenance and a smooth finish for a better ride.
Hybrids combine features of both above- and below-ground concrete structures (bowls) with modular
structures (street courses, mini or vert ramps). Hybrids can also be a combination of flow and street parks,
which is deemed ideal to make all users happy. Skaters for Public Skateparks recommends that park terrain
be distributed 60 percent street and 40 percent transition depending on the size of the park but says on its
Web site that "skaters will enjoy access to a wide variety of terrain types."
Modular parks include above-ground equipment where one can catalog shop for parts to install in a space
and either purchase separately or as a set with a preferred layout.
Custom-made parks place a concrete slab and then add above-ground equipment that is specifically
designed for that space with the needs of the customer and end-user experience in mind.
Bike Versus Board
Even with an estimated 12 million skateboarders in the United States, according to BoardTrac, many
skateparks open their gates for other wheels as well. Not only will a skatepark see its fair share of skateboard
traffic, but some allow the use of inline skates and BMX bikes. According to the BMX Riders Organization, BMX
has a foundation in skateboarding, and for park-style riding BMX bikers utilize ramps and skateparks. The
BRO Web site states that "because the terrain in skateparks is so unique, it is the favored discipline of many
riders."
Yet while some park districts and cities are building multi-use facilities for all, others are barring BMX riders
from their parks. Take Corpus Christi, Texas, where the Parks and Recreation Department announced in
March 2007 that it was banning BMX bikes from its new skatepark because the bikes caused damage to the
metal pegs in the park's concrete. The park opened in February 2007, first with a rule stating that bicycles
could only use the Corpus Christi Skatepark on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, then a sign posted that
bicycles are only allowed on the ramps on Wednesdays. As reported by local TV station KRIS, skateboarders,
inline skaters and BMX riders used the facility on what was technically a bike-only day. With the ban, the bike
riders switched to skateboards or the street to get in their riding experience.
At the Grayson Skatepark in Charlotte, N.C., a schedule is set for when bikes can be in use at the facility. As
posted on the skatepark's Web site, Sunday is a BMX-only day, Saturday is for skateboards only, and mixed
usage is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
BRO explains that the reason for the schedule for bikes and skateboards at the skateparks is not so much
one of preventing use or mixing vehicles but of crowding. "It is no surprise that public skateparks are
sometimes crowded: Bikes, boards and blades are popular with kids today," BRO said. "If a park is too
crowded, separate hours can be set aside for BMX riders."
Skater-designed, -built, -operated and -maintained, the Washington Street Skatepark in San Diego at West
Washington and the Pacific Coast Highway keeps bikers at bay. "Skateboards only, no exceptions," said
Thomas Claypool, chief financial officer of the park.
Skaters for Public Skateparks asserts that both bikers and skateboarders seek recreational outlets, so it
makes sense for BMX bikers to want to ride in a skatepark. However, the organization recognizes that having
riders and boarders in the same facility can be potentially fatal from a safety standpoint, much like mixing dogs
and children or cyclists with joggers. SPS says on its Web site, "Recreation personnel must determine what
represents a safe mix of bikers and skateboarders within an enclosed and often crowded skateboard park."
But in terms of bikes damaging a skatepark beyond normal wear and tear, materials are available to mitigate
damage from bikes, albeit sometimes for an additional cost. SPS explains that coping, high-quality steel
edging, can alleviate bike damage, but it costs more to install and can weaken the experience for the
skateboarder. Concrete with a higher PSI does stand a chance to withstand the extra pressure of handlebars,
pedals and pegs from the bikes. Parks and recreation departments need to weigh these in terms of budget
constraints.
Yet skateparks aren't all following the path of shutting out the BMX rider. In Glendale, Ariz., BMX riders fought to
have a multi-use facility in operation without all the rules and schedules of other facilities. X-Court opened in
October 2007 and allows bikes, skateboards, inline skates and all other non-motorized wheels at all times,
plus it's free.
Weather-resistant
Don't let the weather halt the building process of a skatepark. While skateparks can be used year long thanks
to durable surfaces and low maintenance requirements, it's possible to build a park in the winter to have it set
for primetime when the ground thaws.
Take the skatepark being built at Pine Hill Recreation Area in Washington Township, Penn., for example.
While temperatures hovered around freezing, park construction didn't need to stop. In December, workers
were installing the concrete structures that will comprise the park by using blowtorches to melt the ice in sub-
freezing weather and hauling in pre-manufactured pieces. In this case, five trucks of parts were unloaded for
the Pine Hill park, according to Jerry Zeigler, Washington Township Code Enforcement Officer.
Not only does the precast method keep production in full swing, but it also can help cut down on costs. The
Pine Hill project is expected to cost approximately $218,000 with funds donated mostly by local residents, and
concrete skatepark structures are typically more expensive than other options.
Material possessions
When it comes to building a skatepark, you'll tend to see three types of prevalent materials: concrete, wood
and steel. Factors such as budget, mobility, maintenance and skater experience all come into play.
As Skaters for Public Skateparks explains, the indestructible nature and warranty promise of steel ramps
make them popular with city officials but leave skateboarders unhappy due to heated surfaces that cause
burns, sharp edges and dulling surfaces. Wood can be used for mobile parks, especially to serve as a park
when a permanent structure is being built. And the most prevalent material that skateboarders ride is
concrete, seen in pop culture magazines and videos and simulating a ride in the streets.
"As far as maintenance, concrete—custom or modular concrete—generally requires the least amount of
maintenance or repair, while modular equipment has many individual parts that are held together by
fasteners, nuts and bolts, that need to be checked regularly," Vukovich said. "If the skatepark is outdoors and
its ramps are wooden, the maintenance will be much more of an issue than with concrete."
Community projects
For the Tony Hawk Foundation, its grants help fund skatepark projects across the country, giving citizens in
underserved areas the opportunity to enjoy a skatepark. Since the foundation's inception in 2002, more than
$2 million has been awarded to 365 communities in the United States, and 200 of those skateparks are
already open. Vukovich said the foundation's technical assistance program helps review grant applications
while providing guidance and feedback to those building public skateparks.
"Skateparks accomplish a number of goals for a community," Vukovich said. "First and foremost, they serve an
underserved population of active teens primarily who are forced to skate on the streets where they compete for
space with automobiles, or in front of area businesses whose owners kick them out. Skateparks address the
shift in focus among young Americans from traditional team sports to individual sports—skateboarding has
grown exponentially over the past five or six years while traditional sports are actually losing participants. So
communities are making that shift in their resources to address the skaters' needs."
The Paine's Park project in Philadelphia stemmed from the popularity of skateboarding in Love Park—where
it's not legal to skate. "The goal initially of the project was to create a free outdoor space skateboarders could
use," Bracali said. Bracali became interested in the project after seeing skateboarders on television explain
skateboarding in a downtown setting, which helped him see the sport in a setting beyond competition style
like the X Games.
Whether it's a street-style plaza that invites skaters and pedestrians alike or a concrete wonder that invites
hard-core skaters, skaters will thank you for working with them to create a place to skate legally, and safely.
What You Need to Know
When it comes to skatepark design and development, one resource to consult is The Public Skatepark
Development Guide. A collaboration between the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC),
Skaters for Public Skateparks and the Tony Hawk Foundation, this A-to-Z guidebook to building a skatepark is
sent out to 2,500 parks and recreation departments across the country.
John Bernards, the executive director of the IASC, said it serves as an instruction manual to building a
skatepark. "It's a guide for how to go about building a park, who to go to in the city, what your steps have to be,"
he explained.
It also includes detailed information, down to the terrain and the types of cement to use. "It gets very technical
when it gets to the building of it," Bernards said.
Free for city officials and skatepark advocates—you only need to cover the cost of shipping—the guide directs
you to the proper resources, explains the need for a quality skatepark, and covers industry statistics, building
tips and successful ways to open and manage the facility. It's written by top skateboard advocates and
provides explanations in an easy-to-follow format, complete with illustrations, pictures, forms and worksheets,
for skatepark aficionados of all ages. This guide for skatepark advocates became available for the first time in
2007.
For more information or to order a copy, check out www.skateparkguide.org.
© Copyright 2008 Recreation Management. All rights reserved.
to the eye, so are the designs of the parks housing the urban and suburban tricksters.
With skateboarding on the constant rise—12 million skateboarders and counting in a $2.8 billion industry
according to 2006 survey results from BoardTrac—skateparks are springing up to accommodate the sport's
growth. John Bernards, executive director of the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC),
said that there are about 2,500 skateparks with more to come because they can be used yearlong and require
little upkeep compared to a Little League ballpark that might cost $5,000 a month to maintain yearlong but is
not in use each month.
And while most of the skateboarding population is made up of kids, adults are catching on to the craze. Market
research in 2006 from BoardTrac found that 94.8 percent of skateboarders were male with 47 percent ages 12
to 15 and 22.8 percent ages 16 to 19. Bernards said that the IASC is seeing a regeneration of skateboarding
among 30-year-olds. "After kids go through college, start having kids, parents are out with their kids," he said.
It also helps that there's talk of putting skateboarding in the Olympics—not to mention the large following
garnered by the X Games.
With all the skateboarders rolling through the streets—77 percent of skateboarders skate in the street
according to a 2005 report, Bernards said—many cities have recognized a need to build skateparks. Yet these
skateparks aren't one in the same. Each incorporates the needs of the skateboarder while considering the
community's needs as well.
Skater-designed
What would a skatepark be without the input of the skateboarder? Miki Vukovich, executive director of the Tony
Hawk Foundation, which helps create free, quality public skateparks in low-income areas, said that
skateboarders' involvement helps build more parks. "We consider a city's skatepark the first of many," he said.
"We're convinced that local leaders only need to build the first one, at whatever size, the right way, in the right
place, with skaters involved to be sure it's what they want to skate, and the success of that park will encourage
them to build the next."
Chief Financial Officer of the Washington Street Skatepark in San Diego Thomas Claypool said the park is
"skater-designed, -built, -operated and -maintained." Skaters built the park when no skateparks existed in San
Diego, then fought to keep the park legally by forming a nonprofit organization to administer the park and
having blueprints approved. Claypool said the park was designed very carefully and has all the terrain options
you could want if you are creative.
Much like Washington Street, Philadelphia's Paine's Park project along the Schuylkill River, a city park with
urban features that will be skateable, also has a nonprofit organization fueling its progress. Anthony Bracali,
principal at Friday Architects/Planners, lead design firm for the project, explained that his firm had a contract to
design the skatepark for the city of Philadelphia, with the nonprofit acting as a consultant.
Bracali spent two years working with skateboarders through community meetings, questionnaires and design
work to develop a feasible design for the space, creating an urban space with skateable elements. While the
idea of Paine's Park was to create a legal space to skateboard (unlike Love Park, which has been a popular
skating destination), Bracali said he tried not to replicate anything. "We were trying to create a design unique to
its site and context," he said.
At the same time, the design process had to change to make the park comfortable for all. "The way most
skateparks are being designed, the whole process for designing them is a flawed process because they're
being designed around a model that's all about skating terrain," Bracali said. "They don't deal at all with the
kinds of other amenities skateboarders need in a skatepark to be comfortable. And that was one of the
reasons that Love Park was so attractive to skateboarders."
Bracali explained that Love Park had the terrain skateboarders sought, but also the amenities and attractions
that made it a design for the people—like places to sit, shaded areas, a water feature, connections to the
neighborhood around it and great views of the surrounding area. "Those were things we tried to address with
the project we did here," he said.
Skateparks for the skate stranger
Skateparks across the country offer a variety of features that can appease the skateboarder, as well as the
non-skateboarder.
"Terrain means something different to a designer and a skateboarder," Bracali said.
But some of the common terms all skateboarders toss around the park fall into three categories according to
Site Design Group, a company specializing in skatepark design and construction:
* Street terrain: curbs, ledges, planters, stairs and handrails
* Street course: pyramids, banks, ledges and quarter-pipes
* Vertical transitional: vert walls, pools and bowls
While Bracali's design is for a street-style park, he said there is a 50-50 split between street and transition-
style parks. "The transition style skatepark is growing again," he explained.
Skate plazas utilize real urban architecture like benches, railings and public spaces to meet the needs of
skateboarders as well as pedestrians. Until skateboarders were banned from the space in 2002, Love Park in
Philadelphia served as an urban plaza for skateboarders.
Flow courses have terrain available for all styles, ages and abilities of skaters with terrain defined as street,
street course and vertical transitional. The terrain ranges in style and degree of difficulty.
Concrete skateparks tend to be built in the ground and are the most popular constructed today because of
durability for less maintenance and a smooth finish for a better ride.
Hybrids combine features of both above- and below-ground concrete structures (bowls) with modular
structures (street courses, mini or vert ramps). Hybrids can also be a combination of flow and street parks,
which is deemed ideal to make all users happy. Skaters for Public Skateparks recommends that park terrain
be distributed 60 percent street and 40 percent transition depending on the size of the park but says on its
Web site that "skaters will enjoy access to a wide variety of terrain types."
Modular parks include above-ground equipment where one can catalog shop for parts to install in a space
and either purchase separately or as a set with a preferred layout.
Custom-made parks place a concrete slab and then add above-ground equipment that is specifically
designed for that space with the needs of the customer and end-user experience in mind.
Bike Versus Board
Even with an estimated 12 million skateboarders in the United States, according to BoardTrac, many
skateparks open their gates for other wheels as well. Not only will a skatepark see its fair share of skateboard
traffic, but some allow the use of inline skates and BMX bikes. According to the BMX Riders Organization, BMX
has a foundation in skateboarding, and for park-style riding BMX bikers utilize ramps and skateparks. The
BRO Web site states that "because the terrain in skateparks is so unique, it is the favored discipline of many
riders."
Yet while some park districts and cities are building multi-use facilities for all, others are barring BMX riders
from their parks. Take Corpus Christi, Texas, where the Parks and Recreation Department announced in
March 2007 that it was banning BMX bikes from its new skatepark because the bikes caused damage to the
metal pegs in the park's concrete. The park opened in February 2007, first with a rule stating that bicycles
could only use the Corpus Christi Skatepark on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, then a sign posted that
bicycles are only allowed on the ramps on Wednesdays. As reported by local TV station KRIS, skateboarders,
inline skaters and BMX riders used the facility on what was technically a bike-only day. With the ban, the bike
riders switched to skateboards or the street to get in their riding experience.
At the Grayson Skatepark in Charlotte, N.C., a schedule is set for when bikes can be in use at the facility. As
posted on the skatepark's Web site, Sunday is a BMX-only day, Saturday is for skateboards only, and mixed
usage is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
BRO explains that the reason for the schedule for bikes and skateboards at the skateparks is not so much
one of preventing use or mixing vehicles but of crowding. "It is no surprise that public skateparks are
sometimes crowded: Bikes, boards and blades are popular with kids today," BRO said. "If a park is too
crowded, separate hours can be set aside for BMX riders."
Skater-designed, -built, -operated and -maintained, the Washington Street Skatepark in San Diego at West
Washington and the Pacific Coast Highway keeps bikers at bay. "Skateboards only, no exceptions," said
Thomas Claypool, chief financial officer of the park.
Skaters for Public Skateparks asserts that both bikers and skateboarders seek recreational outlets, so it
makes sense for BMX bikers to want to ride in a skatepark. However, the organization recognizes that having
riders and boarders in the same facility can be potentially fatal from a safety standpoint, much like mixing dogs
and children or cyclists with joggers. SPS says on its Web site, "Recreation personnel must determine what
represents a safe mix of bikers and skateboarders within an enclosed and often crowded skateboard park."
But in terms of bikes damaging a skatepark beyond normal wear and tear, materials are available to mitigate
damage from bikes, albeit sometimes for an additional cost. SPS explains that coping, high-quality steel
edging, can alleviate bike damage, but it costs more to install and can weaken the experience for the
skateboarder. Concrete with a higher PSI does stand a chance to withstand the extra pressure of handlebars,
pedals and pegs from the bikes. Parks and recreation departments need to weigh these in terms of budget
constraints.
Yet skateparks aren't all following the path of shutting out the BMX rider. In Glendale, Ariz., BMX riders fought to
have a multi-use facility in operation without all the rules and schedules of other facilities. X-Court opened in
October 2007 and allows bikes, skateboards, inline skates and all other non-motorized wheels at all times,
plus it's free.
Weather-resistant
Don't let the weather halt the building process of a skatepark. While skateparks can be used year long thanks
to durable surfaces and low maintenance requirements, it's possible to build a park in the winter to have it set
for primetime when the ground thaws.
Take the skatepark being built at Pine Hill Recreation Area in Washington Township, Penn., for example.
While temperatures hovered around freezing, park construction didn't need to stop. In December, workers
were installing the concrete structures that will comprise the park by using blowtorches to melt the ice in sub-
freezing weather and hauling in pre-manufactured pieces. In this case, five trucks of parts were unloaded for
the Pine Hill park, according to Jerry Zeigler, Washington Township Code Enforcement Officer.
Not only does the precast method keep production in full swing, but it also can help cut down on costs. The
Pine Hill project is expected to cost approximately $218,000 with funds donated mostly by local residents, and
concrete skatepark structures are typically more expensive than other options.
Material possessions
When it comes to building a skatepark, you'll tend to see three types of prevalent materials: concrete, wood
and steel. Factors such as budget, mobility, maintenance and skater experience all come into play.
As Skaters for Public Skateparks explains, the indestructible nature and warranty promise of steel ramps
make them popular with city officials but leave skateboarders unhappy due to heated surfaces that cause
burns, sharp edges and dulling surfaces. Wood can be used for mobile parks, especially to serve as a park
when a permanent structure is being built. And the most prevalent material that skateboarders ride is
concrete, seen in pop culture magazines and videos and simulating a ride in the streets.
"As far as maintenance, concrete—custom or modular concrete—generally requires the least amount of
maintenance or repair, while modular equipment has many individual parts that are held together by
fasteners, nuts and bolts, that need to be checked regularly," Vukovich said. "If the skatepark is outdoors and
its ramps are wooden, the maintenance will be much more of an issue than with concrete."
Community projects
For the Tony Hawk Foundation, its grants help fund skatepark projects across the country, giving citizens in
underserved areas the opportunity to enjoy a skatepark. Since the foundation's inception in 2002, more than
$2 million has been awarded to 365 communities in the United States, and 200 of those skateparks are
already open. Vukovich said the foundation's technical assistance program helps review grant applications
while providing guidance and feedback to those building public skateparks.
"Skateparks accomplish a number of goals for a community," Vukovich said. "First and foremost, they serve an
underserved population of active teens primarily who are forced to skate on the streets where they compete for
space with automobiles, or in front of area businesses whose owners kick them out. Skateparks address the
shift in focus among young Americans from traditional team sports to individual sports—skateboarding has
grown exponentially over the past five or six years while traditional sports are actually losing participants. So
communities are making that shift in their resources to address the skaters' needs."
The Paine's Park project in Philadelphia stemmed from the popularity of skateboarding in Love Park—where
it's not legal to skate. "The goal initially of the project was to create a free outdoor space skateboarders could
use," Bracali said. Bracali became interested in the project after seeing skateboarders on television explain
skateboarding in a downtown setting, which helped him see the sport in a setting beyond competition style
like the X Games.
Whether it's a street-style plaza that invites skaters and pedestrians alike or a concrete wonder that invites
hard-core skaters, skaters will thank you for working with them to create a place to skate legally, and safely.
What You Need to Know
When it comes to skatepark design and development, one resource to consult is The Public Skatepark
Development Guide. A collaboration between the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC),
Skaters for Public Skateparks and the Tony Hawk Foundation, this A-to-Z guidebook to building a skatepark is
sent out to 2,500 parks and recreation departments across the country.
John Bernards, the executive director of the IASC, said it serves as an instruction manual to building a
skatepark. "It's a guide for how to go about building a park, who to go to in the city, what your steps have to be,"
he explained.
It also includes detailed information, down to the terrain and the types of cement to use. "It gets very technical
when it gets to the building of it," Bernards said.
Free for city officials and skatepark advocates—you only need to cover the cost of shipping—the guide directs
you to the proper resources, explains the need for a quality skatepark, and covers industry statistics, building
tips and successful ways to open and manage the facility. It's written by top skateboard advocates and
provides explanations in an easy-to-follow format, complete with illustrations, pictures, forms and worksheets,
for skatepark aficionados of all ages. This guide for skatepark advocates became available for the first time in
2007.
For more information or to order a copy, check out www.skateparkguide.org.
© Copyright 2008 Recreation Management. All rights reserved.
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