A Reference Manual
for
Skateboard Parks
City Mayor:
Bill Haslam Mike Ragsdale
Telephone: (865)-215-2090 Telephone: (865)-215-6600
Joe Walsh, Director Doug Bataille,
Director
Developed by:
East Tennessee Community Design Center
David Waston, Executive Director
Research, Editing, Design, Publishing by:
Ramsay Parker McBurney Brown
1522 Highland Avenue
Knoxville, Tennessee 37916
March 2004
Funding for this document was provided by United Way of Greater Knoxville, Tennessee Arts Commission and Friends of the Design Center.
Index
•
Skateboard Facts
•
Contributing Consultants
•
Guidelines
•
Reasons to have a Skateboard Park
•
Funding Ideas
•
Tony Hawk Foundation
•
Designers and Builders
Skateboard
Fast Facts
•
Skateboarding was first practiced in the late 1950's.
•
Skateboarding is the sixth mist popular sport in the United States.
•
There are 10 million active skateboarders nation wide.
•
Skateboarding is the third largest sport among youth age 6-18.
•
81.8% of all skateboarders are 18 years old or under, with the average age of
13.8.
•
75.2% of skateboarders are males.
•
The average skateboarders skates 50.5 days per year, or nearly twice a week.
•
More than 200 companies produce equipment for the sport.
•
In 1995, the industry had an estimated sales of $600 million. Sales for 1996
were in the $700 million range.
•
Skateboarding is ranked by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as almost
twice as safe as riding a bike, and more than four times safer than taking a
swim in a swimming pool.
•
Irregular riding surfaces account for over half the skateboard accident
injuries.
• A
skateboard park and smooth riding surfaces exhibit true safety for the sport.
Contributing Consultants
Name Title Number
1. Joe Walsh City of Knoxville Park and Recreation (865)-215-2090
2. Karen Nolt Knox County Park and Recreation (865)-215-6600
3. Brian Buechene Pluto’s Sports (865)-523-0045
4. Jason Sicill Louisville, KY Park and Recreation (502)-456-3253
5. Jackie French Lexington, KY Park and Recreation (859)-288-2900
6. Jeff Joyce Asheville, NC Park and Recreation (828)-775-0947
7. City/ County Park Maintenance (865)-215-6602
8. City/ County Metro Planning Commission (865)-215-2500
9. David Watson East TN Community Design Center (865)-525-9945
Guidelines
1) Get local support from people who skate. A great place to look for them is in local skateboard shops.
2) Get support from the neighborhood where the park will be located.
3) Conduction cost of parks located other cities, when looking at other cities, inquire how successful that city is and what changes if any they make on their next park.
4) Consult with professional skateboard builders. (See Designer Page)
5) Skaters skate at own risk. The municipality’s park owner assumes no responsibilities for injures. No supervision is provided at any time. (Ironically, supervision may increase your liability.)
6) Helmets and safety pads are strongly recommended.
7) Park hours are generally from dust until dawn.
8) Bicycles or any other vehicles are not allowed
9) Use of alcohol, drugs, and glass containers are strictly prohibited.
 |
Reason to Have a
What benefits do skaters receive:
1) A sense of a place that they can call their own.
2) An opportunity to channel their energy to something positive.
3) A safe place to go after school.
4) A legal park where they cannot receive a citation.
What benefits do
1) Kids off the streets.
2) Frees up police for more important duties than writing skaters citations.
3) A sense of pride in showing that the government, local business, kids (one day will be voters), parents, and police officers can work together for one goal.
4) The city and county will become a safer place for everyone.
What benefits do local business receive:
1) A relief from skaters using their property to skate.
2) An opportunity to contribute to the quality of life in their town. Making a better community does make better business.
3) With support from local business, business can gain customers from the skaters.
Funding Ideas
What other cities have done:
1)
2)
3)
Another Idea:
1)
Tony Hawk (Professional skateboard rider) has a
foundation that provides money to cities for a public skateboard park. (Information on next page.)
2)
The Tony Hawk Foundation
www.tonyhawkfoundation.org
The charitable, non-profit Tony Hawk Foundation was established to
promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateboard parks in
low-income areas. Since its launch in 2002, the foundation has given away over
$910,000 to more than 230 skatepark projects
throughout the
Skateboarding has exploded into one of the most popular sports in
the
Although many new skateparks are in the
works, most serious skateboarders grow up feeling as if they're in constant
conflict with "society." Lacking parks where they can skate legally,
they are repeatedly yelled at, cited, arrested, and labeled as outcasts for
simply doing the thing they love most-pursuing the sport that, in many cases,
gives them their best sense of self-esteem.
In recent years hundreds of municipalities have come to embrace
the recreational-and societal-benefits of public skateboard parks. Although
local officials often oppose these facilities at first, they typically change
their minds as soon as the parks are built and are able to demonstrate the
positive atmosphere such facilities can generate. Almost overnight, any skatepark built in America becomes one of the most popular
recreational facilities in any given region-more popular and statistically
safer than basketball courts, baseball diamonds, or soccer fields.
Tony himself learned to skate at a time when the
The Tony Hawk Foundation is designed to promote the creation of
quality public skateparks, with a focus on the word
"quality." Most cities have no experience at building skateboard
parks. As a result, far too many end up producing unskateable parks with kinky transitions and cluttered designs that contribute to
collisions and injuries. Tony's foundation favors projects in which local
skaters have been involved on a grassroots level, and that plan to hire
experienced skatepark builders.
The foundation was established by an endowment from Tony, who
continues to donate some of his public appearance fees. Significant
contributions have also been made by our corporate sponsors: Activision, Hot
Bites, Quiksilver, Frito-Lay, Skatewave,
and other private donors. In addition, the foundation receives a portion of the
proceeds from Tony's Boom Boom HuckJam national arena tour.
Information about these companies are on the following pages.
Some other design
considerations:
1) Skateboarding is a spectator sport. Bleachers and other viewing areas are needed.
2) An area of lawn around the skate park keeps dust and debris out of skater’s eyes.
3) Skating area should be fenced to protect spectators/passers by and entry control
4) Make sure there are adequate trash containers close by.
5) No lights, so the park can be able to close at night.
Located in Tempe, AZ
SITE
Design Group, Inc., one of the most recognized names in Skatepark Planning, Design & Development, is a consulting firm specializing in skate
park planning, design and construction services. We provide service to clients
throughout the world. SITE Design Group was created to achieve the goal of
designing, building and distributing the most functional, progressive skate park
facilities. Our award winning, professionally recognized skate park designs
exemplify our ability to understand the complexities of both public and private
skate park development no matter the location. SITE Design Group Employs the most
knowledgeable, skilled staff in the industry for concrete parks, above ground
structures and construction services. SITE Design Group offers a diversified
full-time staff that includes, Registered Landscape Architects, Park Planners,
Professional Skateboarders, Master Ramp Designers/Builders, Concrete/ Shotcrete Specialists and Construction Managers.
Our Philosophy
SITE Design Group,
Inc. embraces a visionary, small-team management strategy, striving to provide
a level of personalized services. We dedicate one project manager to oversee
every phase of a project and assign key personal with relevant experience to
address your needs. Through utilizing state-of-the-art technology and attention
to detail, we deliver a cohesive, focused effort over the course of each
project. From concept to completion, SITE Design Group can provide you with
unlimited possibilities in site planning, design, construction documents and
construction services for concrete and above ground skateparks.
This
skateboard park is located in Huntsville Alabama
Located in Lincoln City, Oregon
Dreamland employs no common "laborers." Every team member
is a highly proficient skateboarder, and the results stemming from a passion
for the sport and uncompromising focus on quality are evident: a portfolio
disproportionately rich with world-famous skateparks that resonate powerfully among participant bodies and remain engaging for many
years.
Each Dream team profile reveals
a life-long passion and dedication to skateboarding. Indeed, skateboarding is
our life, and high-quality skateparks feed our
passion by facilitating and fueling long-term athletic progression for
ourselves and the many junior participants that represent the future of the
sport.
Your community and Dreamland
share a goal: engaging, high quality, and safe skateparks that remain applicable for many years. There is no team more qualified to
envision, design, and construct such a skate park than Dreamland.
This skateboard park is located in Aumsville Oregon.
Located in Winter
Springs Florida
Team Pain Enterprises, Inc.
Brief History:
Owner & president of Team Pain Enterprises, Inc., Tim Payne's passion for skateboarding coupled with his construction experience has made him a leader in the skate park industry for more than twenty years. His professional experience has brought over 200 skating facilities, worldwide. Tim has brought together meticulous craftsmen with extensive design knowledge and each having a minimum of 15 years skating experience. Tim and his associates work closely with the community, municipality, general contractor and architect/engineer to produce high quality, custom skate parks. Team Pain's custom work falls into three mediums: outdoor concrete skate parks, indoor wood skate parks and high profile structures for professional riders. Tim, together with Jeff Hammond & Dave Ellis, lead up the wood mediums with James Hedrick leading the concrete team. Notably: James, together, with Tim have produced award winning concrete skate parks.
Project Experience:
City of Ripon, CA (voted Best Skate Park in CA-2001 & 2002) Thrasher and Big Brother Magazines *
City of Asheville, NC (voted Best Skate Park in NC - 2000)
St. Johns County - St. Augustine, FL (voted Best Skate Park in FL-2001)Thrasher Magazine *
City of North Port, FL
City of Aspen, CO (voted Best Skate Park in CO-2000) Thrasher Magazine
This skateboard park
is located Stallion Springs, California
Located in Seattle,
Washington
Watching a skate park being built is like watching art in progress. At least that is the process used by Grindline, the Seattle based company building Trinidad’s skate park. Owner and Field Supervisor Mark (Monk) Hubbard says, “We set out to build the world’s best skate park every time we build.” Grindline won the bid to build Trinidad’s park during a competitive bid process. “They came back to us with a great preliminary design and good references,” said Trinidad City Planner Sean Holm. “We are lucky to have them here!” A talented crew of equally enthusiastic skaters joins Hubbard. There is no standard process for building skate parks. Grindline’s seven-man crew is multi-talented, working as excavators, engineers, carpenters, welders, and concrete crews. “We have a welding crew, a rebar crew, a form crew, and a rubble (grading) crew,” says Dave (Shags) Palmer. When asked, “Who does what?” he laughingly replied, “We all do everything!” The design for the park has evolved from the original plan. “Area businesses, clubs, and individuals really pitched in after Grindline arrived, allowing us to build a much bigger park than originally planned,” said RIP member Penny Bieber. “The response was absolutely phenomenal, and we will be formally thanking everyone with a blowout opening ceremony and party when the park is completed!” Pending good weather, Grindline intends to begin shooting concrete this week. The park will be poured with a concrete technique called “shot crete”, which uses pressurized air to shoot concrete on over-vertical walls. Carl Saunders is Grindline’s “gnarly” nozzle man. The park will be shot in sections while grading and form setting continues in other sections.
This park is located
in Bainbridge, Washington
