So at the Multnomah Neighborhood Association meeting last week, Rod Wojtanik from Portland Parks and Rec gave us an update on the long-rumored Gabriel Park skatepark project. As is the case anytime that skateboarders are mentioned, there was much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments about the fact that skateparks tend to attract the “wrong element” (read: teenagers) who are likely to spend their time smoking in the woods and making loud noises, as well as drawing immense amounts of car traffic to our tranquil park. Much of the presentation was spent addressing these concerns - which is not to say that the concerned parties left satisfied.
Questions were raised about how a project like this got approved, and where were the opportunities for community feedback. To that I say: This discussion has been going on for years and there have been numerous meetings and rather extensive press coverage of said meetings, and the results. Which is to say this: we’re getting a skatepark. It’s been a done deal for a while. Find excellent information, complete project history and community and general surveys related to the City’s overall skateparks project at the Skate Park section of Portland Online dot com. This has to do with the City’s skatepark projects in general though, and is not Gabriel Park specific. For that, read on….
First some background. The skatepark, as designed, is relatively small - just 8-10,000 square feet which is pretty much the size of a standard single tennis court. It will be concrete, and mostly sunk into the ground, which will significantly alleviate any potential noise. The Gabriel Park skatepark is being designed to serve both “street” and “tranny” style skaters, as well as BMX bikes and inline skaters. What?!? You don’t know what “tranny” skating is? It is not doing tricks while dressed in women’s clothes. There are two main “schools” of skateboarding: “Street”, which is the “outlaw” type of skating, where tricks and moves are performed using curbs, steps, stair-rails and other things you find out in the street, and “Tranny” or Transitional skating which is skating in specific man-made skate environments such as bowls, half-pipes and skateparks. Most of the complaints directed at, and damage done by skaters is related to “street” skaters.
The park is going into the former location of the fitness course, next to the sand volleyball courts at Gabriel. I have posted about this previously, here:
The Rocks Area: Where are the Bars?” and here: Gabriel Park Play Area Status. For those of you not familiar with the layout of the park, here’s a picture of the location we’re talking about.
There were a few concerns voiced at the meeting that definitely have some merit: There likely WILL be bike traffic to the skatepark, some of which may choose to cut across the park and not stay on the trail. If casual BMX riders decide to run down the hill to the skatepark bowl, that could have a very negative effect. Although most skateboarders are just regular kids, there definitely IS an element of the skate culture that also experiments with smoking, drinking, etc. so it IS possible that there could be a certain element sneaking off into the woods to have a smoke, and that truly would create a serious fire hazard. However - the main inpact that we’re liable to notice is additional parking. Yes, the City would create an additional 15 parking spaces by cutting parking spaces into the berm that you see in the left-hand side of the above photo. While this certainly isn’t the end of the world, and the park could use more parking - it’s another piece of green gone.
I have to say though, that I am continually amazed at how alarmed people get whenever skateboarders are mentioned. Have we really gotten that old so quickly? Skate park skateobarders are regular kids, with the same interests and propensity towards being or not being troublemakers as any other group of kids. Oh, we ant facilities for these kids, sure… They have to have SOMEWHERE to go…. The implied second part of that sentence.. “other than here” is never explicitly spoken. However, there’s a key difference between skaters and the typical “smoking area” crowd from my teen years, and that is… skateboarding is hard. That is to say, doing tricks on a board and skating in a park without hurting yourself takes a certain level of skill and dedication. I don’t skate, but I’m a rock climber, and I’ve heard many of the same speeches made about why climbers are shiftless and no good for the outdoors. I’ll tell you something though. You’ll find an amazing amount of dedication and sense of ownership of “their space” among these and any other “alternative sport” people. Kids who skate at a park take ownership over the spot in a way you wouldn’t think “the kids of today” would be capable of. They’re protective of their scene, and the maintenance and behavior control issues that go along with it. Skaters use the term “concrete consequences” - which means that any lack of preparation, control, maintenance or skill will land you on the concrete, and it will hurt.
When this park opens, especially if you’re opposed to the idea, you should head down there some sunny afternoon and check out the scene. I think you’ll be surprised at not only the variety of types of people found skating/blading/biking at a park, but also at the vibe. Yeah, kids will be wearing black. Yes, they’ll be listening to hardcore music you do NOT want to hear, and yes, they will have hair of all colors and probably some piercings, but it’s OK. We often decry the fact that younger people don’t seem to be getting involved in neighborhood or local issues. Building a skatepark is a good step towards getting them involved. The sense of ownership over that small space soon spreads to concern for the citywide system of skateparks, parks as a whole and more. We can’t expect kids to suddenly decide to get involved in transit planning and zoning reviews, but taking part in the “policing” and maintaining of a skatepark? Sure, that’s possible.
That’s a long enough post now - discuss amongst yourselves, or in the comments. The document that was handed out at the meeting addresses the specific points related to the Gabriel Park skate park. Thanks to Rod Wojtanik, you can download a PDF of the entire document Gabriel Park Skatepark FAQ (PDF, 112KB)
