Creating Safe Places to Skate in Brookline

Community needs and town benefits

Brookline Parks & Recreation Commission

Monday, January 10, 2011

About Friends of Brookline Skaters

• We are a group of Brookline skaters and parents, teachers, nonprofit and other leaders who are friends of Brookline skaters.

• We understand the need for safe places to skate in Brookline and the benefits that well-designed skateplaces will bring to the community.

• We are seeking the town’s support to develop safe places to skate in Brookline.

A caveat: we love all sports and recreation and many of us have been or are soccer, baseball, basketball, football, tennis and other sports coaches and participants and greatly appreciate all of the facilities provided by the town of Brookline and the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Our goals for this evening

1. Make the case with data for why Brookline needs safe places to skate

– The community need

– The benefits to Brookline

2. Address anticipated concerns about the impact of a skatepark in Brookline

3. Secure the commission’s support for a next meeting to move the project forward

Lge Grw

Skateboarding is a large and growing sport…

• 12.9 million US skateboarders in US

• 4.6% of the population

• 16% of all youth ages 5-24 are

skateboarders

• Skateboarding is the 3rd largest sportfor ages 6-18

• Skateboarding is the 6th largest participant sport in the U.S.

• From 1987 to 2001, skateboarding grew by 14.4 percent to 12.5 million

participants

• Baseball declined by 24.5 percent to 11.4 million participants.

Sources: ActionSportsFoundation.org , Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association,

Ben Par

… with many benefits for participants

• Teaches focus, concentration and the rewards of hard work

• Unbelievably good exercise

• Builds problem solving and goal achievement

• Natural camaraderie within the skateboarder community

• Develops intergenerational and diverse friendships

• Creative outlet

• Low cost sport that is enjoyed around the world

Hlth

Health Benefits of Skateboarding

According to a study in January’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, teens who skateboard or rollerblade more than four times per week are half as likely to become obese as inactive peers and twice as likely to remain at a healthy weight as teens who play team sports.

- 2008 ESPN Magazine

Sk8Pk Def

What’s a “skatepark?” (1 of 2)

Neighborhood Skatepark

4,000-12,000 sq. ft.$50,000 - $200,000

Skate Spot

1,000 - 4,000 sq. ft.$5,000 - $50,000

Dot

What’s a “skatepark?” (2 of 2)

Skate Dot

500-1,500 sq ft$1000-$10,000

Skateable Art

500-1,500 sq ft$1000-$10,000

Bkln Sz

The community need: hundreds of Skaters in Brookline

Brookline 2006 - 58,000 RESIDENTS

1.15% frequent skateboarders = 672 SKATE SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK

2.3% occasional skateboarders = 1,344 SKATE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH

4.6% total skateboarders = 2,668 SKATE AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR

Vs Othrs

Source: American Sports Data, Inc. 2000 Data

Brookline Skaters equal or outnumber other sports…

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Football

Softball

Lacrosse

Frequent Skaters

Youth Baseball

Soccer Players

Skateboarders 2,700

2,462

830

672

365

232

203

Sources : 2006 Brookline Parks Strategic Master PlanAmerican Sports Data, Inc. 2000 Data

Bkl Fac

Brookline has great recreation facilities…

0 10 20 30 40

Ice Skating Rink

Playgrounds

Fields

Basketball Courts

Tennis Courts 32

25.5

24

22

1

No Sk8

Source: 2006 Brookline Parks Strategic Master Plan

… but no skateparks

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Skateparks

Ice Skating

Playgrounds

Fields

Basketball Courts

Tennis Courts 32

25.5

24

22

1

0

Othr Twns

Source: 2006 Brookline Parks Strategic Master Plan

Other smaller towns have built skateparks …

Watertown

Arlington

Hyde Park Hingham

Lexington

Waltham

Malden

Melrose

Braintree

East Boston

Quincy

Impct

… leaving skaters (and parents) with only two options:

Skate in the street or other areas, some unsafe

Leave Brookline to go to other parks, taking their spending with them

Bkl Ben

Brookline benefits of building safe skate places(partial list)

• New low cost recreational programming and instruction opportunities for residents of all ages

• Fewer accidents and injuries

• Safer streets

• Enhanced community pride, especially among skaters and their families

• Keeps small business customers in Brookline

• More exercise and better health for residents

Bt New

Brookline benefits of building safe skate places(partial list)

• New low cost recreational programming and instruction opportunities for residents of all ages

• Fewer accidents and injuries

• Safer streets

• Enhanced community pride, especially among skaters and their families

• Keeps small business customers in Brookline

• More exercise and better health for residents

• A chance to beat Newton and Boston again!

Cncrn

Addressing potential concerns

Safety?

Noise?

Space in Brookline?

Cost?

SFE

Is skateboarding safe?

Consumer Protection Safety Council injury statistics:

The CPSC also found:

• Skaters skating for less than a week suffer 1/3rd of the injuries.

• Over 1/2 half of the injuries are due to falls on rough surfaces.

NSY

Is skateboarding too noisy?

“All in all, a skatepark is no more noisy than similar recreation areas like a basketball court or children’s playground“

- Life Tips 2006Source: "Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design" by Ben Wixon

Spc

Potential locations for Skateparks or Features (partial)

Old Lincoln School- Neighborhood Skatepark

Clark Park- Skatespot

Brookline High -Skateable Benches

Boylston St Playground- Skate Spot

Griggs Park- Skate Spot / Skate Path

Knyvet Square-Skate Spot/Skateable Art

Robinson Field’s Fenced in Court

Old Lincoln School East Lot

Clark Park

Spc BB

Skatepark land use vs. other sports facilities

Neighborhood Skatepark

Skatespot

Skatedot

Cst

An Initial Vision for Safe Places to Skate in Brookline

A Brookline system could include:

• 3 to 4 “skatedots” with 1 or 2

skateable art objects

• 2 "skatespots“ with 2-4 objects

• 1 "neighborhood skatepark" with

a variety terrain.

Rough estimate of costs:

$2,000 - $10,000

$5,000 - $40,000

$20,000 - $200,000

Prv

$27,000 - $250,000Total System Costs

What happened before?

• Brookline funded a skatepark feasibility study in 2000

• A teen skater group met with Town Meeting

• A group of Brookline skateboard supporters met with the Commission in December 2007

• The Commission expressed support for developing skateboard spaces in Brookline

• Nothing ever materialized from this support

Sppt

2011 Community Support for Brookline Skaters

• Extension & Orchard Skate Shop

• Architecture for Humanity (AFH)

• Brookline High School Skate Club

• Safe Spot Skatespot

• Tony Hawk Foundation

• Skaters for Public Skateparks

Q’s

Questions for the commission

1. What’s the process?

2. What are your additional concerns?

3. Do we have your support?

4. What can we do to help move this forward?

5. What’s the next step? When can we meet with you again?

THX

Thanks for your support!

Additional informationBenefits of Skateboarding - http://dropintoskateboarding.com/benefits.php

Types of Skateparks - Regional, Neighborhood, Skate Plazas, Skate Spots, Skate Dots, and Skateable Art - http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/parkdesign/2010/11/types-of-skateparks

Skatepark Adoption Model - http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/vision/2010/12/skatepark-adoption-model

excerpt from Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design. -http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/communities-must-ask-right-questions-when-planning-skatepark

Skate Curriculum and Programming - http://dropintoskateboarding.com/curriculum.php

Top 10 design mistakes - http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/parkdesign/2008/02/top-10-design-mistakes

How Skateparks Fail - http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/vision/2010/12/how-skateparks-fail

2009 SPS presentation - http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/advocacy/2009/10/2009-sps-presentation