EDITORIAL

Fountain Valley is known as “a nice place to live.” And if all goes

according to plan, the city will also be known as having one of the

largest skateboard parks in Orange County.

In September, the Planning Commission approved plans to build a

24,000-square-foot, $430,000 skateboard facility at Mile Square Park.

The City Council gave its preliminary approval last month and is

expected to make its final decision in February. And while there is

always some opposition to plans such as this, we think it’s a good idea.

The park, if mirrored after similar arenas in the county, can be

successful.

Take for instance the Huntington Beach High School skate park.

Problems with skateboarders there chipping away at concrete

structures, planters and stairs around the campus was going on for years,

even after skateboarding was banned on campus.

The skate park was built in 1994 in an attempt to solve the problem.

Huntington Beach also has a similar arena at Murdy Park, which was built

in 1993 and has been featured in magazines and on the Internet as one of

the top spots to ride a skateboard.

Today, both skate parks draw hundreds of kids daily.

Still, we don’t deny there are problems. Fights and vandalism arise

almost on a weekly basis.

But one of the causes of this is overcrowding. Both Surf City skate

parks draw kids from all over Orange County, even some from Los Angeles.

And the Fountain Valley skate park would help to alleviate this. Besides

the room for skaters, the arena will have other venues for teens to hang

out.

The city doesn’t want to build just a skate park, but an entire arena

with basketball courts, night lights and even some sort of monitoring.

Building a skateboard park in Fountain Valley isn’t just for those

living in that city.

It will be for teens and adults alike. We urge the city to give it

serious consideration.