Roller Rink Idea Is In Line With Safety : Innovative Irvine Allocates Funds for Youth Facility to Put Brakes on Street Skating

Southern California’s infatuation with hockey, a game imported from colder climates, has found an outlet in this land of malls and parking lots. In-line skates have made it possible for skaters to bypass the need for plummeting temperatures and frozen ponds, and even artificial rinks.

However, there increasingly are concerns being expressed nationally about the safety of in-line skating. One young woman we noticed flying down an Irvine street on a recent weekend had the presence of mind to wear elbow pads and knee pads, but alas, no helmet. The speeds that skaters can reach and the passions of the games that may make players unaware of traffic hazards increase the risk of accidents on busy streets or even in parking lots. These thrill seekers can become unguided, unprotected human missiles.

The city of Irvine, ever an innovator in the search for order, has decided wisely to address the problem directly as part of its laudable overall effort to provide better facilities and activities for its young people. The City Council recently approved a $29,000 allocation to either create a permanent roller hockey court at a local park or buy a portable court.

Irvine’s celebrated predictability as a planned community has prompted its share of humorous observations about what it is like to live in a place where even the ducks adhere to the rules and regulations. But as the city has evolved as a residential place, companion concerns have grown up about providing interesting things for young people to do in a place of such regimentation. Recognizing that it needs to provide more and better youth activities, the city’s Safe Community Task Force, a group of city and school officials, has been proposing after-school programs and activities, as well as looking into ways of reducing teen violence.

A roller rink under the aegis of that effort should address both needs, the desirability of having safe facilities for a game that has appealed to many young people, and the search for better youth activities. But having such a rink will require a plan of its own, so that everyone who wants to take part can. In the meantime, parents can do their share by insisting that youngsters wear proper safety equipment along with their in-line skates and avoid confusing the street with the playground or an empty parking lot.