Research News

Will Skateboard Parks Put Counties on Thin Ice?

Not too long ago, the Research Division was contacted by a county that wanted to know if any local government parks and recreation departments currently run skateboard parks.

With the proliferation of skateboards in the nation and the restrictions placed by many governments on where skateboarding is allowed, it was only a matter of time until citizens would look to their local governments for access to a place to skateboard safely. But how do local governments look at this sport? Is it really the same as baseball, soccer or football?

First, they see an enormous amount of risk and potential liability for the government. Secondly, they wonder if skateboarders can be controlled and forced to adhere to local government developed rules and regulations. The answers to both questions are much different than it would appear at first glance.

If a skateboard park is designed using design professionals in the field, skaters and professional risk managers, it can be a good addition to the community. Statistics show that skateboarders have fewer injuries than in sports like soccer, baseball and basketball and those injuries were generally experienced by first time skateboarders.

Risks can also be controlled by classes on proper skateboarding techniques and requiring state-of-the-art safety equipment and protective gear for all users. In addition, proper posting of operating hours and stiff penalties for unauthorized use can be used to minimize the risks for local governments. Most young people who participate in this sport, and their parents, know the inherent risks involved and are willing to assume that risk.

Recent experience of several local governments shows that skateboard parks require no additional liability insurance.

Some communities have found that they were forced into providing safe skateboarding areas after they had responded to requests from businesses and private citizens to prohibit skateboarding in certain areas. But once the government started posting prohibited areas, it became apparent that government would now have to provide a safe opportunity for its skateboarders to skate.

Several cities, such as Ocean City, Md., which has had a skateboard park for many years, and Huntington Beach, Calif., which opened its first one in 1994, have found that the parks provided unexpected benefits. Public safety officials were spending less time chasing the skateboarding kids away from unauthorized areas and were working positively with them. In turn, skateboarders liked having a safe, authorized place to skateboard and were working with the police to keep the sport safe. The organization of activities at skateboard parks and the restricted hours of operation also have provided the additional benefit of creating an audience who the skateboarders can watch "demonstrate" their skills.

(If your county has recently opened a skateboard park and has a county ordinance and/or rules and regulations that govern it, please send a copy to the NACo Research Division. Some material used in this article was taken from P&R Magazine, July 97.)

(Research News was written by Jacqueline Byers, research director.)