Well after missing an update during the week I’m highly upset with myself. However I can’t really worry about it because it was unforeseen circumstances getting in the way of me updating. Kinda like how one lady in Dormont is trying to get a skate park built in memory of her two sons who unfortunately drowned last year.
Mary Pitcher’s intention was to dedicate the park in memory of her sons, Vincent, 21, and Stephen, 19, avid fans of extreme sports who drowned last year. She would have raised the $600,000 to $800,000 to build the park herself, though it would have been maintained by the borough on public land.
Sounds like a good idea, and a great thing for the kids right? Apparently, it’s wrong, as most of the people who voted it down cited various complaints from another skate park(Findlay Skatepark) in Findlay township. The general manager there Gary Klingman, has stated that litter has been the most obvious culprit and even a few fights here and there, but with 24 hour security cameras present it hasn’t been to bad he said.
Another thing working against the Findlay park is the supposed noise from skaters sliding on metal objects. It was loud enough that people
City Skateboarding
complained and the municipality provided mats and different sound suppression tactics to ease the complaints. However despite all these complaints and issue, the support and activity at the Findlay Skatepark has been positive, and it’s making an impact:
“It was a worthwhile investment. … There’s lots of participation that tells us we’re getting our money’s worth,” Klingman said.
All this is, is a seemingly wonderful idea in order to give kids a creative outlet while staying active and building various tools they can use on a daily basis. As always with life, there are always bad apples and idiot kids who have to ruin stuff. This is also a huge misconception in the skating movement. Sure, there are kids who speak against authority, but giving them a place to go and do their thing couldn’t be that half bad(and it keeps them off your church lots right?). Even with all these overwhelmingly positive reviews and how kids are enjoying this new area, Dormont still gets rejected.
Be prepared though, because I’m about to blast you with a long excerpt from the Tribune Review’s website regarding various skate parks around the area, and the successful reviews many have received.
Chris Blackwell, Penn Hills principal planner, said the municipality has never received a formal complaint about the Penn Hills X-treme Sports Park, which can have about 100 users on a nice day.
The few instances of graffiti or dumped garbage cans have been blamed on nonskaters who come through at night, he said. He was saddened by the nature of the debate in Dormont because he thinks skateparks, and the issues associated with them, are misunderstood, Blackwell said.
“It’s the most successful, well-received project I’ve ever been involved in, and I’ve been in planning for 20 years, ” he said.
Andy Baechle, director of Allegheny County parks, said the county-owned skateparks in South Park and Boyce Park are so “outrageously successful” that he would love to build a third if funding became available.
“It’s packed all the time,” he said. “When there are a regular group of people who come on a regular basis, they have respect and take care of it themselves.”
Brooms and garbage bags are kept stocked. Park officials have threatened to close the park for litter once or twice but never had to follow through, he said.
Mike Diehl, Cranberry director of parks and recreation, said AE Ride Skatepark there is a good outlet for skaters to stay out of parking lots and public streets.
The park, built in 2005, was placed at the former impound lot behind the Cranberry Municipal Center away from homes or businesses. It is close to the public safety office where police cars come and go all day, though there have been some incidents of graffiti and littering, he said.
“I have a sign that I have to pull out every once in a while that says ‘Park closed due to litter,’ ” Diehl said. “I go out there and tell them I’m not their parent and this isn’t their room at home.”
Skateboarding Kids
As far as I can tell all of the reviews and concerns have been mostly about litter. Typical with kids that are of the teenager variety, and with the exception of a few various crimes and graffiti and some fighting, no big deal. It’s also a great outlets to keep skaters out of trouble when you actually give them a place to skate, so you don’t have to kick them out everywhere they try to. Sounds like a good idea to me, and I hope Mary Pitcher gets to fulfill her wish in create a wonderful place to honor her children’s memory.
October 29th, 2009 at 2:08 PM
As a teenager, I think something like this would be great. It’d (hopefully) keep kids out of trouble, which seems to be everywhere these days.
April 6th, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Yes, but since they want to rip out basketball courts to put in the skate park, many Dormont residents are unhappy about the idea. I am a Dormont resident who prefers b-ball courts to a skate park. Find a different place and it would be fine with me.