Get the site right: site selection is the key to building a successful skatepark.

The pressure to build skateparks has grown dramatically over the last five years, as this underserved and rapidly growing market has captured the public's eye. Skaters and their parents have learned how to access public officials, which has led to the rapid increase in the number of public parks. Increased focus on skateboarding in the media (the X-Games and Gravity Games, for example) has fueled the demand, also leading to the increase in private, for-pay skateparks. Skaters and their supporters often remind public officials that they have the right to expect cities to provide them the same kinds of facilities that are provided to residents who participate in basketball, tennis, softball and other recreational activities. They're also reminding officials that the fear of skating producing liability claims hasn't materialized and that, in fact, skating ranks low in reported injury rates when compared to most recreational sports and activities.

Once this groundwork is done and a community agrees to support a skatepark, the most important decision is location. No other decision will be more important to the success and ease of operation of a skatepark. For that reason, it's important that communities use good judgment and a thoughtful process in making site-selection decisions.

Consider the Users

Skateparks are busy recreational facilities used primarily by youth and young adults. Professional judgment would say that they should be built in highly visible locations, with the safety of the user and the ability to monitor operations in mind. The location should preferably be on a main artery, with good public transportation available.

When planning skateparks, important amenities such as restrooms and parking lots need to be included in the site location. The issue of restrooms is an important one, as skaters often spend many hours at skateparks. Some cities have had to add port-a-potties or build restrooms after the fact because they forget to include them in the site-location decision. It's also imperative that the site has easy access for police and emergency response vehicles. While the injury/liability record for skateparks has been far less than anticipated, quick and easy access is nonetheless important. Site selection should also consider access to public phones and how walkways will connect with parking lots and other park facilities.

Consideration should be given to closeness to residences and incompatible park elements (senior center, tot lot, etc.) and potential noise impacts. Experienced skatepark design firms have a good knowledge of noise studies, which demonstrate that most skateparks don't have a greater noise impact than other active park recreation facilities. Design elements such as berms and landscaping can further mitigate noise as an issue.

Site consideration should also consider whether the skatepark will be lighted. I'm an advocate for lighting skateparks, but this means that lights must meet minimum safety standards and thus can impact the site location. Having good information and dealing with these issues in advance will be helpful in dealing with NIMBY issues.

Alone or Integrated?

Traditional consideration for site locations have included existing and new parks, underused recreation elements such as tennis courts, and parking lots. Several cities have worked in collaboration with local schools, which are often good sites for skate parks. Many school campuses are already active skating spots, and existing play fields or athletic courts could accommodate skateparks. Some school districts are putting skateparks on their secondary school campuses to motivate hard-to-reach students to attend classes by giving them P.E. credit for skateboarding.

It's critical to consider early on whether the park will be used for skateboarding and inline skating only, or whether BMX bikes will be allowed to use the facility. There are important design/site issues if BMX bikes are included. The use of BMX bikes requires a larger skate park, with most experienced design firms recommending a minimum of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet, so that skaters and bikers have adequate room to jointly use the facility. The size decision certainly impacts the site-location decision. A joint-use facility may also impact parking needs, sidewalks and other design/landscape issues.

A good, thoughtful site selection process, particularly one that considers all of the potential NIMBY issues, is critical. Make an effort to identify the areas of concern before "going public," and develop a set of reasonable draft mitigations. Even though it can be a difficult process, it's important to engage adjacent neighbors early in the process. Consider holding informal informational and feedback meetings with neighbors before you start the formal commission/city council approval process. One tactic is to identify the neighborhood concerns in the informal meetings and ask the neighbors to appoint a small task force to work with staff and skatepark supporters to develop responses to the concerns. If you've involved local skateboarding/inline/BMX youth in the process on a skatepark project, they can be helpful in counterbalancing neighborhood opposition. As many of us know, project opponents can become highly organized and often well-funded, so it's important to motivate project supporters to be equally active.

Finding Common Ground

As parks and recreation professionals, we must balance the need to build a safe, well-designed and well-located facility with the concerns of project neighbors that there be minimal impacts to their neighborhood and quality of life. This means that we shouldn't take the path of least resistance. There are horror stories of skateparks being placed in the "north 40" to avoid dealing with site issues, unfortunately to the detriment of young skaters.

Fortunately, with the enormous increase in skateparks over the past several years, there's the ability to draw from the experiences of qualified design firms and hundreds of communities in making the right decision about site location. In areas such as Southern California and Northern California, public agencies have come together in formal coalitions to share experiences, develop guidelines and conduct workshops on the design and operation of public skate parks. This is creating a level of information and experience that will benefit many other communities as they start down this road.

Ultimately, the end result in almost every case is a public recreation facility that meets the needs of the community and provides endless hours of enjoyment. In fact, in many communities, the skatepark becomes the busiest recreational facility in town the day that it opens. This should make the hard work of finding the right location and getting the skatepark built worthwhile.

Dick Guthrie is director of human services for Claremont, Calif., and chair of the Southern California Skate Park Coalition. For more about the coalition, see www.socalskatepark.org.