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Dade: Open park Dudes: Keep it cool

Dudes, don't blow it.

Grind, kick flip and ollie all you want. (Those are skateboard maneuvers for the non-Tony Hawk generation.)

But wear a helmet. Be polite. Pick up your trash. And watch the language, will you?

The benign list of rules are likely to be part of a recommendation to the Dade City Commission, which next week will consider reopening the city's modest skate park. It shut down the park, located adjacent to City Hall, in February after complaints of littering, loitering and vandalism. In the meantime, children have returned to skateboarding on city sidewalks, which is prohibited.

The commission should reopen the park. The city has limited recreational opportunities, and the skate park proved to be a popular site. So much so that it became a hangout for onlookers and others loitering about. That led to littering, some cars being keyed and loud, boisterous behavior. The city initially padlocked the fenced skate park, but gave up and moved the equipment after vandals destroyed the locks to gain access.

Dade City isn't alone in trying to figure out the best way to police its skate park. Zephyrhills closes its year-old park temporarily when children don't wear helmets. The tactic sends a strong message, but simultaneously penalizes skateboarders who do obey the rules.

That is the dilemma. Neither city has a worker assigned to its skate park. New Port Richey charges an annual fee to help offset supervision of its park, located adjacent to the city recreation center. The demographics of Dade City makes a similar scenario less palatable.

"We'd hate to see any child excluded, but we might have to take it under consideration," said Laura Beagles, assistant to the city manager.

Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina said the city might opt for a part-time worker to not just supervise the park, but also arrange clinics and demonstrations. Dade City, Beagles said, will rely on the users to police themselves and report inappropriate behavior to City Hall or the Police Department.

Either strategy is preferable to limiting universal access because demand is high. When the Zephyrhills park opened, it drew registrants from as far away as Tampa and Tarpon Springs. The county's park master plan called for a trio of skate parks by the end of the decade. The parks in New Port Richey and Zephyrhills were built cooperatively, with the county kicking in $60,000 for equipment and the cities providing the space and supervision. A similar offer remains on the table for Dade City, which is considering matching the county's parks impact fee as part of the process. Dade City also has not identified a site for its park.

The county plans to construct its own skate park in central Pasco as part of the expansion of the Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex. Weekend and evening skateboarders at the Land O'Lakes library steps and parking lot attest to the demand. Construction could be completed by late summer 2006.

That still leaves a void for the coming summer. With school letting out a week from today, Dade City would be wise to reopen its park to provide an inexpensive diversion for area youths.

[Last modified May 18, 2005, 00:50:19]