ROOM TO ROLL SKATE PARK OPENS IN GLENDALE.Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer GLENDALE - Outlaws on the streets of Glendale for years, local skateboarders laid claim Saturday morning to their promised land - a downtown parking lot that city officials have transformed into a skate skate, fish: see ray. skate Any of nine genera (suborder Rajoidea) of rounded to diamond-shaped rays. These bottom-dwellers are found from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 9,000 ft (2,700 m). park. ``Now we have somewhere to go instead of getting chased by the cops,'' said John Rodriguez
John Rodriguez , a 14-year-old freshman at Hoover High School Hoover High School may refer to any of the following:
``Before we were only able to skate for five minutes before the police came along and told us to stop.'' It's been more than four years since city departments started working on creating a skate park for local youth. Local police supported the idea, tired of constantly having to reprimand REPRIMAND, punishment. The censure which in some cases a public office pronounces against an offender. 2. This species of punishment is used by legislative bodies to punish their members or others who have been guilty of some impropriety of conduct towards them. kids who were skating skating: see ice skating; ice dancing; roller skating. skating Sport in which bladelike runners or sets of wheels attached to shoes are used for gliding on ice or on surfaces other than ice. on downtown sidewalks and streets. But neighborhood opposition has made it difficult to site a facility. Residents didn't want the skateboarders in their neighborhood parks Neighborhood parks, which generally range in size up to 30 acres, serve as a social and recreational focal points for neighborhoods and are the basic units of a park system. Many include a playground. , fearing misbehaving teen-agers, traffic and graffiti. But after a proposed retail development fell through last fall, a parcel of city owned land in downtown Glendale became available for the skate park. City officials decided to buy portable skate ramps and put up the temporary facility while searching for a permanent home for a skate park. ``It's been a long time coming and it's about time It's About Time may refer to:
Local skateboarders fought hard for the skate park, attending local council meetings and pressuring politicians to follow through on their promise to build a skate park. The facility that opened Saturday is slated to be open for a year or two. By then parks officials hope they will have sited and built a permanent skate facility. A permanent facility would likely be made of concrete and built in-ground. The temporary facility is made of up portable components that can moved around in different configurations. Ann Ranford, president of the Glendale Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission, said the temporary skate park will help city officials troubleshoot for future projects. ``It's a controlled study. We'll be able to study the demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. , see who is using the park and see the usage times,'' Ransford said. ``It's a wonderful opportunity for people in this community to see that this isn't such a dangerous facility to have in your community.'' Glendale is currently grappling with the issue of park space. A blue ribbon blue ribbon denotes highest honor. [Western Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 127] See : Prize panel of citizen volunteers is currently drafting a recommendation for the city council detailing how they believe the city should approach expanding its parks. The need is especially great in Southern Glendale, where there is little park space and many people living in overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. apartment buildings. Eric Rosendahl, a 38-year-old digital artist at Aldus Digital Images, was the biggest kid out on the ramps Saturday afternoon, showing he can still maneuver a half pipe more than 20 years after he took up the sport. Rosendahl spoke in defense of the young skateboarders at community meetings through the years. ``I'm trying to get people to realize it's a misconception mis·con·cep·tion n. A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. that every kid on a skateboard is a bad kid,'' Rosendahl said. The park will be supervised by city workers. The park hours will be 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. All skates must wear a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. Skaters under 18 must also get written permission to use the site from their parents. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Everyone who uses Glendale's new skate park must wear a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. (2) Skaters and skateboarders wait with anticipation as the ribbon to the new skate park in Glendale is cut. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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