Future skateboard park under consideration by Manhattan Beach City Council

By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer

The Manhattan Beach City Council has been discussing the plausibility of creating a skateboard park at either Marine Avenue or Manhattan Heights, since 2001, during their city council meetings.

According to city council member Wayne Powell, the city council has been working on creating a skatepark so that skateboarders have a recreational area where they can feel free to skateboard without destroying public property.

“I believe that this skatepark would improve our community since you often see business or personal properties that are damaged because of skateboarders,” Powell said. “So I think it is a good idea to give the skateboarders a safe environment where they can have fun without destroying city or private property.”

The city council has already decided to formally submit an application so they can obtain a grant of $300,000 from the Los Angeles County for the skatepark. However, the city council has run into problems including picking a location and they have received a number of neighborhood complaints.

“Some people were saying how we are struggling to keep and maintain our cities infrastructure,” Powell said. “So, they thought that before we even consider building luxury items, their words not mine, we should maintain our water systems, sewer systems and our buildings.”

The city council is currently deciding between two locations for the skatepark, the Marine Avenue Park or the Manhattan Heights Park. According to Powell, the Marine Avenue Park seems to be the biggest contender among city council members, and it was the original location when the idea of the park was first brought up.

“Marine Avenue is the ideal location since it’s not extremely close to any residential property so there’s no issues with noise or lighting at night,” Powell said. “It is also within walking distance of the middle school and it is close to other amenities such as the bathrooms already in the park, the baseball field, and the soccer field.”

20 sites have been evaluated by the city council and a “skateboarding expert,” Powell said. The only place that has been explicitly against having the skatepark is Polliwog Park.

“The people of Polliwog Park came to a city council meeting with a petition and basically said that one place where they don’t want to see the skatepark at the park,” Powell said. “This led to there being a lot of Parks and Recreation Department meetings where people would come out and talk about how they don’t want the park in their front or back yard.”

At several city council meetings, citizens of Manhattan Beach have brought up the issues about noise, extra traffic and even more damage to the community. According to Powell, citizens have voiced complaints about how the skate park might create more traffic since kids from El Segundo and Hermosa Beach may desire to go to the newer park.

“I feel like a new skatepark is a great idea for the city to invest in, it gives some of the kids interested in skating a chance to just grab their board and go instead of needing a ride,” sophomore Danny Poje said. “It also gives parents and residents a better view of the reputation that skaters have, so they will be more accepting of kids’ interests.”