Skate park

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A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment for skateboarders and inline skaters to ride and develop their sport and art. A skatepark may contain halfpipes, quarter pipes, handrails, trick boxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, stairs, and any number of other trick-oriented objects.

Skateparks may be privately owned or publicly owned. Privately owned skateparks usually have admission fees, while publicly owned skateparks generally charge no entrance fee. Many privately owned skateparks are indoors, usually in warehouses, roller rinks or buildings with tall ceilings, especially in areas of the world with snowy winters. Public skateparks are almost always outdoors.

History

Skateparks first emerged in 1976, and were primarily private, for-profit endeavors, although several public parks were built. Parks of that time included pools, bowls, snake runs, freestyle areas, banked slalom areas, halfpipes, and full pipes. Most were built of concrete and were located outdoors, although in more extreme climates indoor parks were built.

None of the private parks of the 1970s remain, with the notable exception of Kona Skatepark in Florida, United States. Many of that country's public parks remain, such as Derby Park in Santa Cruz, California. Most of the parks of that era were poorly designed and built by "get-rich-quick" type businespeople who wanted to make money from skateboarding. The best parks, such as the Upland Pipeline, designed by skateboarders and carefully built, survived well into the 80's, until they were overrun by escalating land values that made their survival less profitable than if their sites were to be turned into shopping centers or condominiums. Outrageous liability insurance premiums made possible by the fears of enormous lawsuits also were a contributing factor in the decline of the original skateparks.

Modern skatepark design can be traced back to Portland, Oregon, in 1990, with the commencement of the Burnside Project, a DIY "barge build" sited underneath one end of the Burnside Bridge. Skateboarders took an area that was populated primarily by what the city would call "undesirable elements" and created a skatepark there, slowly building one section at a time. That process came to be known as "design/build" (DB), and is characteristic of nearly all the best skateparks in existence today. The design/build process makes sure that adjacent skatepark features are harmonious and rideable, allowing skateboarders to create endless "lines" to ride among the many elements extant in the design.

The modern public skatepark is a relatively new creation, made possible by legislation stating that skateboarding is an inherently "hazardous activity", and therefore municipalities and their employees may not be held liable for claims of negligence resulting in skateboarders' injuries.

In recent years, estimates have it that a new skatepark opens somewhere every three days.

Controversy

With its history of fringe social acceptance, skateboarders have only recently gained significant legitimacy. Still, there is no shortage of controversy surrounding skateboarding.

Many urban areas face widespread property damage caused by skateboarding and some have addressed the problem by creating skateparks. However, the design and materials used often leads to heated discussions within the skateboarding community.

Though once there existed a some friction between inline skaters and other skatepark users, the small number of inline skaters at skateparks does not tend to contribute to crowding or collisions. BMX bikes, on the other hand, are the subject of a great deal controversy within skatepark communities due to safety and skatepark maintenance issues. pl:Skatepark sl:Poligon za rolkanje