Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

A2 Skatepark advocates launch website

26. August 2005 • Matt Hollerbach
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From the new website of the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee:

Why do we need a skatepark?
Skateboarding is a healthy, non-competitive sport that 5% of all Ann Arbor children aged 13-17 participate in, even with city and campus-wide anti-skateboarding bylaws in effect, and no local facilities provided for by the schools, city, or any private organization. The demonstrated need for such facilities has only grown, while tennis courts, soccer fields, and basketballs courts (provided in duplicate by parks and schools) sit empty most of the time. Not all children care, or can afford to participate in such competitive/organized team sports, especially outside of school.

Without a real public skatepark, Ann Arbor has effectively becomes a skatepark itself, with 868 violations of the city’s anti-skateboarding ordinance between 2000 and 2004 on UM’s campus alone. That’s a lot of wasted time and effort on the part of law enforcement to deny our kids their sport.

and

Aren’t skateboarders a bunch of hooligans?
If skateboarding is outlawed, only outlaws will skate! To put this in perspective: a skateboarding ticket in Ann Arbor costs $50 (usually with the confiscation of the skateboard), while the penalty for marijuana possession is a $25 civil infraction!

Thanks to the tip from Dug Song on our contact page.



  1. amen to that!!!!
       —nick forbes    Dec. 5 '05 - 02:06PM    #
  2. skaters should be allowed on all sidewalks in anna arbor b/c it is an esier way to get aroud al;l the frekin hippies.
       —nick forbes    Dec. 5 '05 - 02:09PM    #
  3. need help writting a persuasive essay topic on something good for skateboarding. please help.

    ¿and i hate hippies!
       —patrick wagners    Dec. 5 '05 - 02:13PM    #
  4. SHU UP STUPID WHITE PEOPLE
    i heart skateboarding even if i did break my leg doing it

    side walks are fun
    ORANGE SODA

    i hate hippies
    pnut
       —Pnut    Dec. 6 '05 - 01:30PM    #
  5. skateboarding rox, u people should build them a skatepark publicly and fast.
       —bam margera    Dec. 7 '05 - 02:05PM    #
  6. (Just a thought – if you’re into skateparks, you may want to come up with a better formulation of your position than “skateboarding rox, u should build a skatepark”.)
       —Murph.    Dec. 7 '05 - 02:51PM    #
  7. What if we could pool our spare money together, form our own committee, and open our own privately funded park?
       —Erik Brown    Jan. 4 '06 - 04:36AM    #

  8. i would definitly like a skate park in ann arbor becaue i am a young skater and i am not old enough to drive yet so if my big brother is doing somthing then i cant go to bur skate park or concreete jungle. i would like to be able to ride my bike to a park.
    hope it happens
    cody norat


       —cody norat    Jun. 29 '06 - 05:46AM    #

  9. I wish the skaters who visited the sight wrote in a way that I could understand.

    what and where are;
    “bur skate park or concreete jungle”

    thanks


       —Just a Voice    Jun. 29 '06 - 05:50PM    #

  10. yes, those visiting this ‘sight’, LOL

    site, site, damn i suck at spelling


       —Just a Voice    Jun. 29 '06 - 05:51PM    #

  11. As a parent of a teenage boy in the area – let me voice an opinion FOR the skatepark arguement. These kids are growing up with more options for entertainment or activities than WE had – PS2 vs. Atari? How about cable/sat TV channnels vs. ON or OFF? Or how about Internet vs. Comic Books? Their eyes have been opened to far more at a younger age whether you think you are protecting your kids or not. Giving them a safe environment to participate in an activity like skateboarding or rollerblading should be a natural progression in the maturation of our cities. Did our fathers or grandfathers have lighted ball diamonds or footbal fields? A large 4 pad ice rink complex? No. They made due with what they had. If some old timer would come down to the sandlot to chase a bunch of kids away from a scrub game of baseball he would have been looked at like a monster in our eyes! What about this then. Give the kids what they want – sure beats the heck out of promoting illegal activities, spending too much time playing PS2 or downloading porn on the internet. Maybe the kids outside are not the problem? Let’s find someplace to help them work out teen angst instead of being the old timer that doesn’t understand what they enjoy.


       —Brad Jenks    Oct. 10 '06 - 05:38PM    #

  12. Skateboarding is not a crime.


       —Edward Vielmetti    Oct. 13 '06 - 09:30AM    #

  13. I think a skake park would be so good for a2 not only kids like to have some fun…even some old folks like to skate board! I didn’t know this untill ressently while talking to an older friend
    that loves it!!(QUOTE) and he’s 30 something sound like great fun to me and I’m almost 50….So I say build a skate park!! Did you Know that people travle many hours just to skate, its true this guy told me that were folks from the windy city at the last get-to gether and if folks will come from the Windy City just to skate its got to be GOOD!
    CHEERS,
    Dan Schafer


       —Dan Schafer    Jul. 28 '07 - 12:32AM    #

  14. Hey, I know a GREAT SPOT TOO!!!!! Right on librety across from the YMCA! Raise that eye sore thats there now! And you maybe able to improve the flood plain as well!
    cheers,
    Dan Schafer


       —Dan Schafer    Jul. 28 '07 - 12:40AM    #

  15. How high would you like to raise that parcel of land?


       —HNG    Jul. 31 '07 - 08:21PM    #