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Saratoga skatepark is on the move, and support is growing By Kate Carter The skatepark homies are showing up. Saratoga's new skatepark has been in full swing for a month now, and its number of supporters is growing, according to recreation coordinator Taffy Lowery. The skaters are coming—between about 8 and 14 a day, she said. A few more locations have signed on to host the portable park for a week at a time—Christa McAuliffe and Argonaut elementary schools and Redwood Middle School. And even a few parents are getting into the act, though not by showing their stuff on the ramps and rails. Lowery said some enthusiastic adults come by with snacks for the talented tricksters. The skatepark opened June 17 following the city council's approval for buying the equipment that can be moved from place to place. And the biggest challenge hasn't been getting support for the park—it's been getting the equipment to arrive and then getting it set in place. The basic features of the park—the trailer that unfolds to form the main portion of the park and some of the additional pieces that get stored inside—arrived the morning of the park's very first day. The rest finally showed up last week, Lowery said. She said she's grateful for the staff of five young adults and the approximately four teenage volunteers who set the park up and take it down every day. "They're just really big pieces," she said. "They're really heavy. It's a lot of manual labor." Once the park is in place, staff members set up shop beneath a temporary awning, where they offer a big jug of water for participants. Staff members then check to make sure each skater has a parent-signed waiver on file and is wearing the appropriate safety equipment. Lowery said there are 54 waivers on file, and as of July 3, users had signed in 158 times since the park's opening. "That's pretty good," she said. The most skaters in one day was 15, she said. Last week saw its lowest attendance, which Lowery attributed to the heat. Most of the skaters are middle-school boys, but at least three girls have also used the park, she said. In addition, the park has attracted mostly skateboarders, rather than in-line skaters, according to Lowery. The park is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Aug. 27, at the following locations: —Through July 20 at the city of Saratoga's parking lot behind the community center on Allendale Avenue. —July 22-27 at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, 12211 Titus Ave. —July 29-Aug. 3 at Congress Springs Park's front parking lot on Glen Brae Drive. —Aug. 5-10 at Argonaut Elementary School's front parking lot, 13200 Shadow Mountain Drive. —Aug. 12-17 and Aug. 19-24 at Redwood Elementary School's lower basketball courts. —Aug. 26-27 at the city of Saratoga's parking lot behind the community center on Allendale Ave. |
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