Sound decisions: when deciding whether or not to build a skatepark, residents usually sound off with noise concerns--but are they valid?Coffee and grunge music “Grunge” redirects here. For other uses, see Grunge (disambiguation). Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle Sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that was created in the mid-1980s by bands from the American state of Washington, particularly in the have a place to call home in Seattle, Wash. However, the city's estimated 20,000 skateboarders did not--after several years of community debate and run-ins with the law, they still didn't have a large skatepark A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment for skateboarders, bmxers and aggressive skaters to ride and develop their sport and technique. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, handrails, trick boxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, stairs, . Ballard Bowl, a small concrete bowl, was the only place they could grind, ollie Ollie may refer to the following:
That is now changing, thanks to the work of Seattle Parks There are hundreds of parks in Seattle, Washington. This is a partial list. See the City of Seattle's list of parks for additional information.
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. . It wasn't an easy road though, mostly because of complaints from nearby residents who lived close to the proposed site, and thought noise would be an issue. Neighbors lived as close as 100 feet to the proposed site, and thought clattering clat·ter v. clat·tered, clat·ter·ing, clat·ters v.intr. 1. To make a rattling sound. 2. To move with a rattling sound: clattering along on roller skates. boards, rowdy teens and grinding wheels could be a disruption. Dewey Potter, communications manager for Seattle Parks and Recreation says they worked with residents and skaters, and listened to both sides in a number of town meetings. They even hired a consultant to test sound levels, which reached 70 decibels at 50 feet away, which is comparable to the noise of a dishwasher. In the end, the agency decided to move the site because of noise concerns. "We had picked a site on another side of the park where the parking lot was," Potter explains. "But some parents expressed concerns about it being near the woods. It was our original intent to have it there, and in the end we moved it back there and everyone was happy." Although changing sites worked in Seattle's situation, plans for a skatepark don't have to be jeopardized because of noise concerns. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Skatepark Association of the United States of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, (SPAUSA), communities request noise studies regularly when the skatepark is being planned, but rarely have a problem with it after the skatepark is built. SPAUSA says it has only received one complaint about noise from the city of Brea, Calif. The site the city chose was at the base of a hill and the noise traveled upward to the homes on the top of the hill. Twinkie Twinkie® defense Forensic psychiatry A legal tack in which a defendant claims that a criminal act resulted from chemical imbalances induced by 'junk food,' and not criminal intent. Goorhuis, president of Reedsport 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 in Reedsport, Ore., agrees with SPAUSA, saying that now that the town's skatepark is built, the community wonders what kids did before. "The skatepark has not added any noise at all," she says. "You really can't alleviate any fears, even though they are ungrounded. Once the park is there, it turns out not to be the problem it was suspected to be." When the skatepark was being built in Reedsport in 2001, Vice-President of the Board John Lechuga says the topic of noise was an issue. The team wanted the skatepark to be visible from a main road and its current location of Lions Park seemed perfect. However, with residential housing on two sides of the park, residents quickly brought up noise concerns. Since completion, it hasn't been a problem. "Some of the residents who did not wish for the skatepark to be built ended up becoming our primary activists--one of them was over 80 years old!" he says. Design can also play a role in how loud a skatepark sounds when riders are using it. SPAUSA recently conducted several sound readings at skateparks with different surfaces, using a digital sound level meter Sound level meters measure sound pressure level and are commonly used in noise pollution studies for the quantification of almost any noise, but especially for industrial, environmental and aircraft noise. to test how loud a skatepark would sound at normal conditions
The lowest reading was usually when no one was riding the ramp in front of the meter and for some parks, turned out to be lower than the ambient reading outside the park. Concrete surfaces had the lowest noise levels, with steel surfaces producing the highest. However at 100 feet from the park, there was little noise above the surrounding ambient sounds no matter what skatepark surface was used. (see chart on this page) No matter what surface is used, a skatepark is supposed to bring a community together, not put them on opposing sides. Perhaps if noise issues can't be worked out, the best solution is to plan and design the skatepark at a site in a non-residential section of town. Rich Rollins The Cove is surrounded by various other sports facilities See:
abbr. bicycle motocross BMX Noun 1. bicycle motocross: stunt riding over an obstacle course on a bicycle 2. biker bik·er n. 1. One who rides a bicycle or a motorbike. 2. A motorcyclist, especially a member of a motorcycle gang. biker Noun a person who rides a motorcycle and Cove employee Clint Clint is the diminutive word for the given name Clinton and may refer to: People:
"I think people bring up noise mostly as an excuse not to build [a skatepark]" he says. From his experience, anything built above-ground is louder than below ground, while wood ramps have a tendency to echo more than cement. As the sound chart shows, even the loudest skatepark at 90 decibels has about the same noise level as a lawnmower. Some cities have banned music from boom boxes to cut back on other possible noise problems, while others have limited hours to exclude early morning or late nights when residents might be sleeping. Either way, like any sound, whether it's considered music to your ears or a nuisance, it really is in the ear of the beholder. Lechuga says, "Sometimes the best noise is the laughter of our kids enjoying life, and that's what I tune in for above all else." The Sounds of Skateparks Concrete In-ground park Test park: Santa Monica Skatepark, Calif. Approx. 18,000 square-feet; 50 participants in the park Location dB Low Reading dB High Reading Ambient noise 64 72 30 feet from entrance 65 70 At the entrance 66 74 Inside park 63 76 At the bowl 64 78 Wood Frame Mini Ramp Skatelite surface over 2 3/4 inch layers of plywood Test Park: Skatepark Association Building Mini ramp; 12 riders using the ramp, one at a time Location dB Low Reading dB High Reading Ambient noise 75 78 On Ramp 77 85 Steel Frame Phenolic Fiber Laminate over 1/2 inch man-made base Test park: Hollenbeck, East Los Angeles, Calif. Approx. 12,000 square-feet; 10 skaters in the park Location dB Low Reading dB High Reading Ambient noise 77 80 150 feet from the park 70 73 50 feet from the park 68 73 20 feet from the park 74 78 Inside the park 80 87 Steel Frame w/Phenolic Fiber Laminate attached directly to the frame Test Park: Rogers Park in Inglewood, Calif. 7 skaters in the park Location dB Low Reading dB High Reading Ambient noise 72 76 At 150 feet 76 85 At 50 feet 78 89 At entrance to park 78 89 Inside the park 82 89 Steel Frame w/Steel Surface Test Park: Papa Jack's, Malibu, Calif. 17 skaters in the park Location dB Low Reading dB High Reading Ambient noise 71 78 Entrance to park 78 80 Inside park 80 96 Portable Ramps Fiberglass ramps Ambient noise 75 78 Ramp noise 84 89 Man-made Surface w/Steel Frame Ambient noise 75 78 At the ramp 88 90 |
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