Skaters Will Soon Be on Solid Ground

Skateboarders and in-line skaters will soon be able to flip and whiz through the air--without glares from adults or fines from police--as park district officials will announce plans tonight to unveil three temporary skate parks.

The ramps and slides are scheduled to arrive Saturday and the sites should be ready next week, said Karen Lindsey, recreation services manager for the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

For a few hours a week, skaters--whether using boards or roller-blades--will be able to catch air at the Borchard Community Center and the Thousand Oaks Community Center.

Park officials selected the Thousand Oaks Teen Center as the third site, even though equestrians voiced concerns at a July board meeting that skaters would frighten horses by zipping back and forth near park trails there. Lindsey said the conflict was eased when the skating area was moved to a spot farther away from the equestrian paths.

“I like the idea [of the skate parks] because it keeps us away from drugs and now we can skate instead of hanging around the streets,” said 15-year-old Dave Leben, a Thousand Oaks High School freshman who attended earlier park board meetings to support legal areas for skateboarding.

“When you skate at a high school, they’ll like kick you off in two minutes,” he said in an interview this week.

Dave said the only problem he has with the new sites is that he wishes they had longer operating hours.

“It would be better if they opened at 2:30 p.m. and closed at 6 p.m. But I’m not really complaining,” he said.

Skaters will be charged a $5 annual fee to use the sites in order to reimburse the park district, which paid $10,000 for liability insurance and $5,600 for wooden ramps.

In addition to the insurance, skaters using the parks will have to fill out waiver forms that say they skate at their own risk; the forms are being distributed at the centers this week.

“I realize it’s an activity that may have some risks,” said Dennis Gass, the recreation supervisor at Borchard Community Center. “But teens enjoy risk activity. I know--I have three boys of my own.”

Gass added that other sports, such as mountain biking and football, are risky but that injuries can be reduced with proper safety gear and supervision.

“The plan is to have all the bases covered,” he said.

All skaters must wear protective gear when using the new parks, according to Lindsey, who added that a few extra sets of helmets and pads will be available to lend to youngsters who forget to bring their own.

The temporary skate facilities, which will be staffed by park employees, are relatively easy to set up and take down, said Gass. All the ramps have heavy caster wheels so that the equipment can be moved and stored until future use.

“It’s a little labor intensive to set up five [ramps],” Gass said. “But it’s not too bad. It’s the teen outreach workers’ [responsibility], but I know the kids will help too.”

Thousand Oaks officials decided to create the nonpermanent skate parks after attending a seminar last November during which their counterparts from San Luis Obispo and Atascadero talked of their cities’ successful temporary skating areas, said Jesse Washington, park district recreation and community services administrator.

But Washington said local park district leaders were especially impressed when several teenagers this summer told the board that they wanted a legal area where they could “ollie” in the air, “nose slide” off curbs and do “50-50” moves down railings--without being ticketed by police officers, fined by the city attorney’s office or having their boards confiscated.

“We’ve been waiting for something like this for a while,” Gass said. “The teens are really happy and enthusiastic. Now, instead of us constantly telling them where they can’t skate, we can tell them where they can. It’s now in a positive light.”

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FYI

Here are the times and locations of the new skate parks:

Beginning Tuesday:

Borchard Community Center

190 N. Reino Road, Newbury Park

Tuesdays 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays 4 to 6 p.m.

Beginning Wednesday:

Thousand Oaks Community Center

2525 N. Moorpark Road

Wednesdays and Fridays 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Beginning Oct. 9:

Thousand Oaks Teen Center

1375 E. Janss Road

Thursdays 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Saturdays 3 to 5 p.m.