Seattle has a lot of skaters, but not a lot of skate parks. Those of you who have been following the news know that since the shutdowns of the skateparks at the Seattle Center and in Ballard, there is no public skatepark in the city of Seattle. There are some privately owned parks in suburbs, but in a city this size where many people skate, it seems silly to me that we don’t have a public park.

Recently I was in Santa Monica, California, one of the most important locales in skateboarding’s history. While no one knows exactly where skateboarding first begin, all contemporary skaters owe at least some debt to the skaters from that area who revolutionized the sport in the 1970′s, transforming it from a novelty activity into a legitimate sport. Ironically, this iconic skatetown didn’t get a public park until 2005, but The Cove is the very model of what a skatepark should be like and after spending two afternoons there, I became convinced that if more people could see what a well run skate park is like, more people would understand why it’s worth the money and effort to build one.

The Cove is a clean, well-run facility. It consists of several bowls and transitions for skaters of all different level of abilities. To skate in the park, you must register with the park office where you are handed a contract that outlines the rules of the park and your responsibilities as a user. In California, skateboarding is considered a “dangerous activity”, a bit of legalese that means anyone who takes part in that activity does so at his or her own risk and cannot assign responsiblity for injury or loss to any municipality. Additionally, the terms of signing up to skate require you to agree to hold the city harmless.

Accidents do happen in skating (and BMX biking, which is allowed at specified times only) and they happen often. Falling is a part of the sport whether you’re a total novice or a top pro. Most injuries are slight but it is possible to get seriously hurt. This fact is one of the key reason that worried cities shoujld have parks: during a two day observation of The Cove I saw one serious injury–a kid fell and smashed his chin open. Blood spilled everywhere but the other skaters remained calm as the park attendant rushed over to check the kid out and call for immediate assistance from the nearby EMTs. Had this same kid fallen while out skating on a street with his friends, who knows how quickly he would get medical help but there he was treated immediately. The following day, one of his friends reported to the rest of the regulars that the injured skater was just fine and would be skating again soon.

Having an attendant at the park helped ensure that skaters wore their safety equipment–elbow and knee pads and helmets are required–and because no equipment, no skate was the rule there were no serious objections made to the rule. Skaters of all ages and abilities being obligated to follow the same rules kept the vibe mellow by providing an egalitarian atmosphere. I watched as a living skate legend patiently stood in line for his turn in a bowl behind a five year old kid. Watching the camaraderie between the skaters was great. Boys and girls, youngster and older patrons got along well and worked out any minor issues without any serious grief. The parents that were down at the park watching their kids told me without exception that they thought the skaters–including the kids–did a great of running the park themselves because they had the structure in place to do it.

The best part of the park is that it wasn’t shoved in some dingy, unused area of the city. It is integrated into the city’s main public park alongside soccer fields and softballs diamonds, making it obvious that the skaters at the park were just as much part of the community as anyone else. This made for a clean, safe, fun place that every city should have. Seattle included.