A skate park is nothing neither more nor less than an athletic facility specifically for skateboarders, in-line skaters, and freestyle BMX riders. There are at least 533 in the US. California, with sixty-eight, has more than any other state; Colorado comes in as second with twenty-six, and Florida with twenty-five. So what does a skatepark offer? Most importantly, it offers a place for skateboarders to meet, perform their skills, and relax in a safe environment.
Most offer a variety of surfaces for different skill levels, from a kiddie course, through a main street course, to a vertical ramp and bowl for the most skilled. Usually, a skatepark needs between 18,000 and 25,000 square feet in order to meet all skill levels. In beginner areas, individuals with limited or even no experience can practice out of the way of intermediate and advanced skaters; the beginner areas can feature small hips, moguls, banks, curbs, and rail slides.
The skatepark designers’ association recommends that parks include street elements such as ledges, stairs, and rails familiar to non-skaters, to allow skaters to practice in safety. Not only will a place to skate, skateparks offer modestly-priced lessons to give students back information, skateboarding techniques, and safety gear. Skateparks are reused facilities, in that municipalities frequently develop skateparks from unused basketball, tennis court, or parking lots. In developing new skateparks from old facilities, architects are counseled to follow the ten quick rules for design, which are simplicity, smoothness of surface, no kinks, flatbottom, no overcrowding, pushing room, no ledges over your bellybutton, edges that grind, pumpable hips, and lights.
While some of these are clear, others require a bit more explication. Any skatepark needs flat bottom between obstacles, since skateboarders generate speed by pumping up and down transitions; maximum flatbottom allows more skateboarders to skate at the same time without collisions. Any wall, bank, or skate able pool’s edges must be hard and grind able; a slightly protruding edge allows a skater to feel where they are. Street elements