Update on the temporary skate park: dos and don’ts, repairs, no mixing with cowboys

Skatepark rules Skatepark repairs Skatepark repairs skatepark closed sign
Left: There’s now a big poster of dos and don’ts tacked up on one of the ramps at the temporary skatepark at Babcock. Nice.

Center: the ramps are taking a beating, but they’re being repaired

Right: The skatepark is closed all day this Wed. because the DJJD committee is having its Sponsors Thank You Pig Roast at the rodeo grounds on Wed. at 5 pm.

I don’t understand the reasoning for the latter, as the the skate park is not really very close to where the DJJD tent is set up.  And the James-Younger Gang doesn’t really perform at the event. They just ‘appear.’  Somebody’s being too cautious here, it seems.

5 Comments

  1. Griff,

    The whole reason for the skate park being closed for the hog roast and during DJJD celebration is safety. There is going to be some 200-300 cars going in and out of there on Wed. We don’t want anything bad to happen. As for the Gang appearance, the ride down fast into the hog roast and we don’t want to have any issue there as well.

    Everyone should also be aware, that the DJJD committee passed a resolution in favor of the temporary skate park at that location and at whatever location the permanent one will be located at.

    It is all for safety reasons.

    August 11, 2009
  2. Jane Moline said:

    Hayes:

    Hogroast:
    More like 100 to 150 cars. Skateboarders do not skate in the drive lanes because there is too much gravel. Gang does not have a problem with the skate park–our horses have no interest in those obstacles. I think this is overkill on the part of the committee. This is an opportunity for the community to see the skateboarders in action. (Posible safety problem for the drivers if they are paying more attention to the skateboarders than where they are going.)

    Obviously, during DJJD we need the parking and we will have to figure out pulling the jumps off the pavement to give us more room. We hate to do it to the skate boarders but thought it was very important they at least get a temporary home.

    We all need to work on finding the best, permanent home for the skate board park.

    August 11, 2009
  3. Jane Moline said:

    I stand corrected–more like 200 cars–and the safety concern is that a hog-roast attendee –in their car–will collide with skateboarders who are coming and going.

    I was hoping that the skate boarders would be able to police their people, but the concern is that too many would not know of the traffic problems (if they come from the east side through the bike path,they often come right down the middle of the rodeo arena and would be right in the middle of the hog roast traffic.)In the last few days,committee members coming and going to prepare the site have had to take evasive measures to avoid tangling with the skateboarders.

    August 11, 2009
  4. As the chairperson of the DJJD Sponsor Hog Roast event I feel obligated to respond to this post in regards to the closing of the skatepark. I am sorry that this is the first opportunity I have had to respond, but I spent from 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM on Tuesday at the Rodeo grounds preparing for our event. I want to ensure everyone that the ONLY reason the request was made to have the park closed for this one day is because of a concern for safety with the amount of traffic coming into the site. (the dog park will also be closed, as it has each year on this one day since the opening of the dog park)

    I have chaired this event for the DJJD committee since 1992 and am well aware of the number of vehicles it brings to the site. The event is held as a thank you to our many wonderful sponsors and supporters in the Northfield community. Each year we feed over 400 people at this event and this year I currently have RSVP’s of 374 as of the time of this writing and am confident we will again have over 400 guests. Griff himself has attended our event in the past and hopefully will this year as well. (although he has not RSVP’d) As to the question of the number of cars arriving at the event, it is well over 200 cars, who are constantly coming and going. I believe Hayes’s estimate of 200-300 is closer to correct. As the Chair of the event, I would be absolutely devastated if one of the attendees in a car were to have an accident with an attendee of the skatepark, as would the rest of the DJJD committee would be as well. We tend to error on the side of safety. With an event the size of DJJD, we know first hand how easily accidents can happen.

    The DJJD committee does not have a problem with the temporary Skatepark at this site, if fact we supported the decision. The more use of that site, the better for everyone who has a stake in the site. The dog park and the skatepark have brought life to an underused site. We are happy for the kids who finally have a spot to enjoy, and we urge the City Leaders to help them find a permanent site. They have worked hard to raise funds and deserve a site. As volunteers for the DJJD committee we understand how it feels to have a passion for something, work hard to raise money and want to see what you are working towards be successful.

    It is wonderful to see the number of kids both on skateboards and bikes who are using this site. In preparation for our upcoming event, myself and other DJJD committee members have spent a great deal of time at the Rodeo grounds over the past week. We have been entertained by the talents of the kids at the skatepark. They are having a great time and are simply having innocent fun. However, in the long amounts of time we have spent at the site lately, we have witnessed some near misses between pedestrians, bicycles, skateboards and cars at a highly congested entrance to the site. Some of which involved our own committee members. Knowing that we would be responsible for a large amount of car traffic entering the site on this one day, we made the request to close the skatepark and the dog park for this one day for safety concerns. I would hope that people will understand we do not want anyone to get hurt.

    The skatepark and the dog park will be back open for all to enjoy on Thursday. I hope this helps clear up any questions as to why the request to close the skatepark and the dog park were made. We do not want any hard feelings, we simply want everyone to be safe.

    And now it is 3:00 Am and I am loading up my car to head to the Rodeo grounds to start the coals for the pig which will arrive at 4:30 AM and will cook all day at the site and will feed all of the wonderful Defeat of Jesse James Days Sponsors!

    Thank you for the opportunity to explain our concerns in regards to safety!

    August 12, 2009
  5. Griff Wigley said:

    Hey Sandy, thanks for that detailed response. And consider this my RSVP. I’ll be there and will hopefully get a photo of you napping in the bleachers. 😉

    August 12, 2009

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