The Mariposa Skate Park, Broken Down

By Paul Wilson

These days just the mention of the Mariposa skate park can start a long discussion, it seems. Everyone has their opinion, and no two seem to be alike. Some say it should be shut down. Some say it should be left alone, the way it is, and the way it is run. Some say better supervision would help; while others say hiring an employee to watch it would change its standing under the California state law. Some say the parents should be more involved, telling their children to wear the required protective gear, and to obey the rules. The county is worried that with the percentage of people at the skate park who are not wearing protective gear, they may be heading towards liability lawsuits. There may be only a small percentage of people wearing gear but, of all the people who are at the skate park at any given time, only some of them are actually riding or skating in the park. The rest are just “hanging out,” talking, listening to their MP3 players, and watching.

In September of 1997, California Assembly Bill 1296 was passed to amend Section 115800 of the Health and Safety Code, to cover liability issues regarding skate parks. This law provided that neither public entities nor public employees were liable to any person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity. Skateboarding was included in the list of hazardous activities. AB 1296 expired in 2003, and a new law Senate Bill 994 was voted in, stated the same things, and extended the liability coverage to 2008. The conditions for this liability coverage have been completed by the Mariposa County Parks and Recreation, by posting signs stating the skate park is an unsupervised public facility, that by using the skate park you recognize that you are using it at your own risk, and by stating that helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads are required. Nobody who uses the skate park would have any feasible claims to base a lawsuit on if they chose to use the skate park and got hurt in it.

The authorities cite it as a hotspot of potential illegal activity, but any place that people gather could be the same. The skate park may not contribute to the educations of young adults like the High School does, or provide knowledge like the county library but all these are places where youth and adults may gather. The skate park is a public facility, for the enjoyment of the public, no different then any other public facility, like the Arts Park, or even the rest of the County Park. The worries about young people potentially being exposed to things they might not normally come in contact with could possibly be solved with more parents getting involved.
Many parents simply drop their kids off at the skate park, go do errands, visit friends, or go to work. They may not be aware of all their kids do while they are gone. A few minutes spent watching their son, or daughter enjoy the park may be all it would take. Children if they know they are, or could be watched by their parents, will normally act more maturely and wisely then if left to themselves.

In recent weeks, I have noticed that the people who actually skate and ride in the skate park have been keeping it cleaner, throwing away trash even if the trash isn’t theirs, and recycling the empty bottles, and soda cans that are brought to the skate park. If left to itself, I think the skate park will continue to run fairly smoothly, and the little bugs will eventually be worked out, leaving a facility that is easily enjoyable.