City’s Skate Park Risk Paid Off

Huntington Beach gambled on some of its youngsters a few years ago, building two parks for skateboarders when other cities were telling devotees of the sport to get out of town.

The community that prides itself on the nickname “Surf City” accepted the risk of having a skater suffer an injury and sue the city. So far the gamble has paid off. Since the first of the two parks was built in 1993, no skateboarding claims have been filed.

Huntington Beach deserves credit for designing a safe park. Now the city finds itself in the role of teacher. Cities across the country are asking how to build a safe place for skateboarders.

One reason for the expected boom in city-owned facilities was the Legislature’s passage last year of a bill by Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside) declaring skateboarding a hazardous activity. That should provide cities and counties with protection against lawsuits from many skaters.

Morrow said many cities would not build parks because of the high cost of liability insurance. His bill “has spurred many communities to build,” he said.

It’s true, skateboarding is dangerous. Bruises and broken bones are not exactly unknown. Several months ago a skateboarder in Mission Viejo was injured fatally when he skated down a steep hill and apparently hit a raised lane marker in the middle of the street, lost his balance and fell.

Helmets, knee and elbow pads and other protective clothing should be worn to help lessen some of the risk. Unfortunately, though Huntington Beach’s parks have signs requiring that helmets be worn, they seldom are.

That sort of flouting the law, and common sense, fuels the bad-boy image of skateboarding that many practitioners of the sport complain is undeserved. Bumper stickers may proclaim, “Skateboarding is not a crime,” but riders do not win friends if their activities lead to bench and bleacher repairs, a frequent complaint of city officials.

Skateboarding has been a fact of life in Southern California for three decades now. Its popularity is obvious; riders deserve safely designed facilities to skate and enjoy themselves. That’s true especially if skaters return the favor by staying off the streets and sidewalks.

Huntington Beach was ahead of the curve when it comes to skateboarding and now can give good advice to other cities.