The Manhattan Beach City Council gave the Parks and Recreation Commission permission on Jan 7 to explore the feasibility of building a skateboard park in Manhattan Beach.
The Parks and Recreation Commision will research locations, reach out to the community and schools, and grant funding and opportunities to sponsor the construction of the skatepark. The commission has been discussing this idea since 2001.
“The Parks and Recreations Commision is very excited about this,” city council member Mark Burton said. “It has been one of the highest things on their agenda for over a year.”
According to Burton, Manhattan Beach skateboarders often get in trouble with law enforcement and business owners for skating on sidewalks, streets, and parking lots. However, the closest skateparks are in cities such as El Segundo, Hermosa Beach and Venice.
“Having a skatepark will benefit business owners, law enforcement, and Manhattan Beach skaters,” freshman Shane Crow said. “The skaters will finally have a place nearby to go without destroying property and upsetting other people.”
Although the Manhattan Beach City Council supports the concept of building a skatepark, they made it clear that the fate of it will depend on the ability to secure funding through sponsors. According to Burton, the estimated cost of the skatepark will could range from $400,000 to $1 million.
“I want this to be a high quality skatepark, even if it takes a little longer to get grants and sponsors,” Burton said. “We don’t want to halfway do it, we want to do it right the first time.”
According to Burton, Manhattan Beach citizens have petitioned and raised awareness for the necessity of a skatepark since the late 1990s. This year, Crow and his father Richard Crow have taken on this responsibility.
Ashley Cohen
Staff Writer
“We attended a couple of Manhattan Beach parks and recreation meetings and one city council meeting,” Richard Crow said. “They were very supportive so we we tried to gain awareness for the cause through social media and asked skaters and parents to attend meetings.”
City council member Tony D’Errico has an opposing view regarding building a skatepark in Manhattan Beach.
“I don’t want staff time used on this right now,” D’Errico said. “It’s impossible to put this in front of our budget process. This isn’t the time, frankly.”
According to Richard Crow, a skatepark is the most important thing our community needs. Skateboarding is a globally recognized competitive and professional sport that requires our city’s recognition.
“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel and this doesn’t have to be a painful process,” Crow said. “Plenty of cities around us provide great examples of skateparks. All we have to do is convince the city council to put this plan into action.”
Leave a Reply