Manhattan Beach City Council submits application for construction of a skatepark

By Ellie Shalvarjian

Staff Writer

After discussing the prospect of constructing a skatepark in Manhattan Beach since 2001, the Manhattan Beach City Council decided at its Jan. meeting to formally submit an application to the Los Angeles County for a grant of $300,000 to begin the project.

According to City council member Wayne Powell, the city council has been working to create a skatepark so that residents will have a recreational area 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.”

According to Parks and Recreation Service Manager Idris Al-Oboudi, there are several different options for skatepark designs, some of which include skate-dots, skate-spots, skate-paths and skateable art. These skate designs will help keep children off the streets skating.

“I love the idea of the skatepark. I’ve been working on it for over 30 years,” Al-Oboudi said. “The youth are all very interested in the sport of skateboarding so I think [a skatepark] is something we need so we can appeal to the younger generation.”

At several city council meetings, Manhattan Beach citizens have complained about the noise, extra traffic and even more damage to the community the construction of the skatepark would cause. 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.

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

Powell said that the city expects to receive the results of the application. If the grant is approved, the city council members will vote on a location for the skatepark to be. As of now, the most desired location seems to be Marine Avenue, Powell said.

There is no official date decided for when the construction of the skatepark will begin but the city hopes to complete the park by the end of 2016, Powell said.