Teens put colorful new skate park to its first tests
The colorful new Fossil Skate Park's grand opening is Saturday, but some users aren't waiting until then to try it out.
By MYDRIA CLARK
Published June 4, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - The kids in Fossil Park didn't even let the paint dry before they were grinding rails, doing tail whips off banks and riding the halfpipe at the new skate park at the Willis S. Johns Recreation Center.
They've been skateboarding, inline skating and riding BMX bikes there since May 22, a few days after school let out for the summer. And the park is not even officially open yet. The grand opening will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday at 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.
"Kids have had no other place to go," said Russ Stanley, who is in charge of the skate park in addition to being athletic supervisor at another city venue, the Huggins-Stengel complex.
Now, with a new skate park, skaters and bikers can wear out the many halfpipes, rails, spines, boxes and banks in the park instead of using public ramps and handrails.
Fossil Skate Park was built after the successful petitioning of a 13-year-old Fossil Park resident. He brought the petition to the City Council, which used some money from the city's sale of the Weeki Wachee property to build the park. The new 13,000-square-foot skate park is the first in the area with a precast concrete surface, which, according to a news release, is easier to maintain and very durable for skaters. The park stands out because of its colorful equipment. The sides of the halfpipes, banks and boxes are painted red, yellow and blue with the backdrop of a bright green gate.
"We call it Skittle Park because it has all these different colors," said Anthony Cruz, 14.
Cruz and his friends have been going to the park every day since it opened. All skateboarders, they arrive at the park around noon and stay until the sun goes down.
"I get up, I get dressed and I leave," said Matt Peterson, 15.
BMX rider Jesse Harvey, 17, also stays at the park all day. Having a skate park close to home has been a great advantage for him. Harvey used to ride at a skate park in Clearwater, but it cost him too much money. Because he lives in St. Petersburg, the Clearwater park charged him $50 for a year's membership plus $6 each time he used it. Registration fees at Fossil Skate Park include a $12 annual fee plus a one-time $3 resident card ($100 for nonresidents), which comes out to only $15 for Harvey.
Before Fossil Skate Park opened, St. Petersburg had only one skate park, the privately run one in Coquina Key. In time, there could be more.
"There's been talk that if this park is successful, that another park can be planned in other parts of the city," Stanley said.
Fossil Skate Park is open from dawn to dusk every day, with Tuesdays devoted to bikes. By July, the park should have lights to keep it open until 11 p.m. Skaters must first register at the Willis S. Johns Recreation Center and receive a sticker in order to use the park. Helmets are mandatory, and children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
