Wednesday, November 15, 2006

3 Bs at Boyce Park -- Bikes, (skate) Board, and Bladers

A new area at Boyce Park in the eastern part of Allegheny County opens, called 3B. It is a skate park for bikes, boards and (roller) blades.

I hate skate parks. If I was in charge, they would not be built.

Skate parks are danger zones. Skate parks are fertile grounds for orthopedic injury and even if Dr. Freddie Fu paid to have them built, I'd say 'no thanks.'

On the opening day of the roller park in McKinley Park in the city, three kids went to the hospital. One broke his collar bone. Another was treated for a heat stroke. And a third had something to do with a bb-gun (speaking of "bs") shooting from up in the woods down onto the park.

Even as a big shot talked about how everyone here will need to wear a helmet, and it will be 'self-policed' for safety, there were a handful of kids out of the dozens who had no head gear. Go figure.

Rather than skate parks, I'd prefer trampolines.

In Australia, they have free standing trampolines. In Austria, we saw a barge on a riverwalk area that was equipped with a dozen, side by side trampolines.

The kids need activities where there is the hope of 'coaching' and 'teaching.'

Frankly, I don't mind gangs. I just want gangs with activites and leadership that we can trust, control and monitor. To me, being in an orchestra is a lot like being in a gang. But that is a 'good gang.'

9 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I tried to comment this blog earlier but it did not work and i lost all of what i wrote, but all i wanted to say was that skateparks are not "danger zones" by any means. And that you should really back up what you say by facts not by what you would do. thanks for your time.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

im sorry bro but what u need to undertstand is that skating blading and bmx are much different and can not be related to trampolines at all. when u are skating you have no limits. it is much less limits than a piece of tarp surrounded by a blue mat. (reguardless of how many you stack together) dont get me wrong, i love my trampolines. but when i skate, the world can be whatever i make of it. i can go out any where. I visited boyce skatepark today, and i have to say, it was one of the greatest parks i have ever skated, in my entire life. Skate parks are a great way of going out there and pushing yourself and going big, and sure, there are injuries involved. i was trying to 5 up the uro gap at boyse and caught my wheel and went flying. But i got up and kept trying and eventually, i stuck it. but coudlnt you say the same for almost any thing you do? lets take trampolines. last week, my bro was working on kangaroo flips on our tramp, and he sliped and landed on his head, broke his neck, and had to go to the emergency room. id say tramps are just as dangerous, if not more than a skate park, ive had injuries on tramps that were way worse then on a board or on skates or on my bike. also, teaching is a huge part in skating. skating teaches self dicipline, and it teaches you what your limits are, you have to coach yourself every day, and try your hardest. i dont see how coaching and teaching is involved any more in skating than on a trampoline. and what does skating have to do with gangs, are there skating gangs that are terrorizing communities out there? if there are i would like to no because in all my years of skating i have never heard of such a rediculous thing. im sorry sir, but eatdirt054is right, you should do some research on these, "gang related dangerzones." I thank you for hearing what i have to say, and i hope you understand my concern.

Anonymous said...

I really must say I strongly agree with the other two posts. True one can seriously hurt in a skatepark, but there is risk involved with just about anything. Football players take a serious risk every time they step on the field. I know, you'd stay football offers coaching and advancement. However, with BMX and skateboarding there really seems to no limit to what can be done on a bike or board. They also provide self motavation and coaching, but camps such as Camp Woodward past State College, PA. provide training facilities and professional coachers and trainers for bikers, boarders and bladers. As for trampolines, come on, trampolines? Kids get bored with trampolines within an hour max, but can stay at a skatepark all day. Also, I'm not going to drive a half an hour just for a trampoline, but I'll drive three hours to Columbus, OH to ride one of the best skateparks in the country. Gangs? Where did that come from? Skateparks bring fellow bikers and skateboards together. Also, skateparks give kids a place to ride or skate in peace, because like it or not we are going to do what we love if we have a legitimate skatepark or not and I'm sure you don't want kids skating in the parking lot where your car is parked. I'll admit it, I usually ride my BMX bike with no helmet or pads, but I have years of experience and honestly feel more comfortable on my bike in a skatepark than on a trampoline. While kids are still young and learning I strongly believe they should wear at least a helmet. Sometimes I will wear my helmet but more to set an example. In conclusion I just want to add, that I am a college graduate (from a private liberal arts college), I still ride my BMX bike (it is EXCELLANT stress relief), and I do vote! I must say you have lost my vote for all time. Thank you.

Mark Rauterkus said...

Guys that don't wear helmets are not going to vote for me.

I do like the logic of getting a skate board park so that the skate board riders are taken off the streets.

I use the same logic for grafitti parks. Give a good outlet for the grafitti vandals -- in places where the whitewash can be changed on non-private property -- and that might move it to a more constructive location.

My kids won't play football because of the injury factors. I did for 4 years however. My neck is okay now.

The trampolie mention is mostly a joke, FWIW.

I'm glad you found a good outlet for stress relief.

Do you travel to Ohio to ride at a public or private facility?

Anonymous said...

It's a good thing you are not in charge. Ever.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

bmx and skate parks are danger zones however offer the best way to present this type of activity in a controlled more safe fashion enforced with rules such as helment and pad wear. would you rather have your youngster jumping off stairs at the peterson events center and getting a severe closed head injury becuase he didn't wear a helmet and the stairs were not designed for such? you need to open your mind a bit you are not going to stop kids from skateboarding and bmx so better to offer them a supervised safer setting...