Santa Ana Is Ready to Roll on Its First Skateboard Park

Santa Ana soon will begin construction on its first skateboard park, an alternative for teenage skateboarders to the busy streets, sidewalks and benches that they now are routinely disciplined for abusing.

The city hopes to begin construction early next year after months of planning that also has involved teen skateboarders. The facility will be built inside Centennial Regional Park, near Fairview Street and Edinger Avenue.

Teens say the number of skateboarders in Santa Ana has multiplied in the last three years as declining crime and gang activity have given them greater freedom. But practicing their acrobatics is taking a toll on steps, benches and other public amenities.

The skateboard park will include metal rails, ledges and concrete ramps for maneuvers.

Without such a park, teens improvise.

On a recent weekday, 15-year-old Phil Ortiz and his friends jumped from a 5-foot concrete ledge at an apartment complex in downtown Santa Ana. In making their jumps, the teens came crashing onto a private driveway.

Phil said he spends many hours skateboarding at places that provide the challenge he needs, only to be escorted out by police or private security.

“It’s pretty messed up. It’s not fun to go just to get kicked out,” he said. “They say we’re breaking up the concrete, but we have nowhere to go.”

Ricardo Pena, 14, said he often takes the bus to Garden Grove, Westminster and Irvine, communities that already have skateboard parks. “We go anywhere we can to skate. There’s just not a lot real close,” he said.

Ron Ono, Santa Ana’s parks design manager, said the city will spend about $400,000 on the 15,000-square-foot facility.

Lack of money has delayed the project, Ono said. Officials still are scouting for $100,000 to reach their total. They hope to find the money before construction begins.

Users will be required to wear pads and helmets, protective gear rarely used in the streets. A city employee will serve as a monitor.

The Santa Ana City Council prohibited skateboarding in its expansive Civic Center two years ago because riders were damaging walls and benches. In parks, rangers have disciplined skateboarders for using park property to jump and glide.

Skateboarding is allowed in parks unless it damages property, said Officer Mario Corona, who describes the activity as “a sort of vandalism.”

“If they are doing something that endangers their well-being, if they are damaging public or private property, we are more than likely to take action,” he said.

Skateboarders may be charged with trespassing and destruction of city property, he said.

Mario Melendez, owner of the Maji clothing shop on Broadway, noted the number of teens rolling past his store and decided to dedicate part of the store to them. Three weeks ago he opened the Santa Ana Skate Shop, where he sells boards and lets the teens watch skateboarding videos. He has also joined the city committee working on the skateboard park.

“These kids have been sitting down all day [at school],” said Melendez, 29. “They want to burn some energy and they can’t do it. They are often doing things illegally and underground. This should be something positive.”