May 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 69

Operations
Skateparks - a Key to
Community Engagement
This public asset may offer an unexpected way to connect with
harder-to-reach visitors and members of your community
By Patrick G. Morello, CSLA, OALA, ASLA, IFLA

C

ivic leaders in Little Current, Ontario, a small town on a major recreational boating waterway on Lake Huron, were looking for opportunities to meet the needs of their youth while also attracting tourists to stay
a little longer in their area. Boaters might fuel up in Little Current, or stop for
lunch; however, there was not much to entice families with teenagers to book
hotel rooms and stay overnight.
The community looked for a way
to engage visiting children and youth
- and some adventurous adults -
through building recreation facilities
that would attract them. One of the
facilities they settled on was a skateboard park. Now complete, the skatepark has been credited with boosting
the number of overnight stays and
more share-of-wallet from the boating public.

Little Current's experience has
been replicated in many communities, in which a well-designed skatepark has become a significant local
attraction, drawing interest not just
from the community but further
afield as well. The City of Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, located along the
south end of Lake Superior, undertook an economic development study
for a regional skatepark and found

that the park would pay for itself in
three years through increased and
prolonged tourist traffic.
Managing Negative
Perceptions of Skateparks
When many public park managers
think " skateparks, " that thought is followed closely by associations to " drugs "
and " graffiti. " This just isn't so.
Skaters tend to have a bit of a rebellious streak; it's in the sport's DNA
from when it started, with athletes
using leftover spaces such as empty swimming pools and floodwater
drainage beds as their playgrounds.
But many skaters have a fierce sense
of ownership of " their " park and
will keep undesirable elements away.
There is also a culture of sharing the
park with various age groups, and
older skaters will often look out for
younger ones by giving them space
and tips to develop their sport.
Also, we have often found that
they will protect and maintain their
park by bringing their own brooms
to clean up leaves and litter in the
skatepark's structures. They take a
keen and informed interest in maintenance of the facility.
In terms of graffiti, many parks
maintain a strict zero-tolerance view.
Anyone with a spray can knows that
their tags and designs will always,
no exceptions, be erased within 24

W W W. N R PA . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 4 |

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May 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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