Concerns About The Proposed Skate Park
NOTICE: SITE OUT OF DATE
Note that this site is out of date. Council voted on 4/5/2010 to allow the skatepark to be developed on the Banksville Road site near the pool where the existing tennis courts are - this location alleviates several concerns about the skatepark being placed in the park itself. However, many concerns remain and the site will be updated in the days to come.
History
At a Dormont borough council meeting on Monday, July 27th, 2009, a proposal was brought forth to create a skateboard park within the confines of Dormont Park. This skate park would be a memorial to two brothers who tragically drowned in July of 2008. These young men enjoyed skateboarding.
We mean no disrespect to the supporters of the skate park and sympathize with the loss that the families and friends of these two young men have endured. We also do not wish to stereotype skateboarders. We simply do not agree with the location selected and the process being followed for this skate park for the reasons described below.
Make no mistake - the supporters of "Pitcher Skate Park" are lead to believe that this is GOING TO HAPPEN. They are collecting donations, construction material, and soliciting contractors. They've paid for a design plan. All of this before receiving borough approval! Please raise your voice now in opposition to a skate park in YOUR park... before it is too late.
Remember to raise your voice rationally and politely! The supporters of the skate park are not bad people. Some of them are our friends and neighbors.
Residential Location
The site proposed is right on Memorial Drive, a residential street with homes on one side and Dormont Park on the other (along with the elementary school). Memorial Drive residents would be the Dormont residents most impacted by the proposed skate park. Even if the skateboarders who visited the skate park were the nicest people in the world, the fact is that property values on Memorial Drive would be undeniably and severely reduced. It is unfair to the people who purchased their home on this street at a premium because of being close to the park. They would now be faced with a substantial "change of scenery" and reduced property values and reduced future ability to sell their homes if they have to move.
In addition, this site was selected by those proposing the skate park, including an outside developer, because of their own concerns about vandalism and "mischief." They wanted their skate park to be located near a road so that it could be easily patrolled by police and so that no activities would be hidden from view. The residents of Memorial Drive do not wish to fill in as a de facto neighborhood watch in what is currently a very safe and peaceful street and neighborhood.
At the borough meeting, many skateboarders came to express support for the park - when polled by show of hands, it appeared as though a slight majority of them were not even Dormont residents. This bears further verification, but it implies that many skateboarders from other communities would be traveling down Memorial Drive to visit the skate park. This would increase traffic, noise, etc.
Mrs. Pitcher herself does not live in Dormont currently.
Visual Impact
The proposed park plan would tear down an existing tennis court that is not exquisitely maintained but it is used by kids playing hockey, parents teaching their kids how to ride their bikes, etc. It would also require removing trees and plants. The developer and Mrs. Pitcher have expressed that they would do what they could to reduce the number of trees removed for the skate park. Regardless, instead of seeing trees and greenery at this edge of the park, we'll be lucky to just see clean concrete and a chain-link fence. Pictures of some other local skate parks are provided on our site - they were taken in July of 2009 and paint a much less attractive picture of what the visual impact of the skate park on Dormont would be. Graffiti and disrepair are prevalent.
Also, the planners suggest that "special lights" could be installed to illuminate the skate park to further reduce bad behavior - these lights will be an impact to the residents of Memorial Drive regardless of how they are designed. Bedroom windows face the proposed skate park location.
Even with the absence of graffiti, would you want this (see slideshow) right across the street from your house? As skate parks go, it's incredibly nice, in fact. But you'll note the absence of any residences in that slideshow.
Sound/Noise Impact
Nobody complains when a few skateboarders or kids on bikes ride down our streets but having a more continuous amount of noise is a concern. The proposed skate park location is a very quiet park location currently. It will, when the skate park is in use, be filled with the sounds of wheels on concrete. Additionally, residents are concerned about possible profanity issues around children (the skate park would be between the kids playground at the bottom of Memorial Drive and the elementary school at the top). Not all skateboarders are loud and obnoxious but experiences at other skate parks indicate that you only need a few to ruin it for the others. Skating is often compared to other sports that would occur in parks (Dormont already has a baseball field for example... what's the difference?) The difference is that baseball leagues have adults in authoritative positions present (coaches, umpires/referees). This helps reduce profanity, vandalism, etc.
Liability Insurance Impact
The supporters of the skate park claim that they will cover the entire cost of a skate park (or get matching grants to cover it) - it will cost the borough of Dormont "nothing." This is not true. The land itself will be owned by the borough - it is not private property. One of the likely financial impacts is with regard to insurance. According to the developer who presented to council, a few years ago it was very difficult to even get general liability insurance policies updated to cover a skate park on municipal/public property. Now you can with some additional cost, or some companies "might" cover it so long as rules are posted and other stipulations are met. These other stipulations may incur borough cost. Regardless, no research has been done to determine what the specific impact will be with regard to insurance.
Environmental Impact
The current Dormont council received a lot of support for their stance on green space - fighting efforts to commercialize a portion of Dormont Park. Dormont is known for loving its pool and its park. Trees, grass, plants will be torn out and replaced with cement. Dormont residents would likely respond well to reasonable requests for park development (new pavilions, trails, etc). However, we are also known for having strict rules in place as to how much green space we can remove on our PRIVATE property - one would expect the park's PUBLIC green space should be protected more stringently.
Size
The design presented at the council meeting (also on the Pitcher Park website) did not indicate just how much ground would be covered by the skate park. Some folks have heard it will be over 1 acre but that is as of yet unconfirmed (and note that the design could change, growing or shrinking as they see fit). The Pitcher Park website indicates "close to double 10,000 square feet" so we can only assume something ~ 20,000 square feet. The current perception is that this park is a rather large skate park, and Dormont is a relatively small community (< .8 square miles). While a skate park of any size would be opposed by most folks who oppose Pitcher Park, a large one would be expected to cost more, generate more noise, destroy more green space, etc.
Ongoing Maintenance Impact
Supporters of the skate park claim that the park will "maintain itself." Borough resources will not be necessary. They claim that skateboarders and even their parents will come clean up messes from time to time, and that because this park is dedicated to two young men that the skateboarders knew and loved, they will treat it well.
This sounds noble, and, in fact, might even be true... at least for a while.
But 5 years from now and beyond, how many skateboarders will have known the Pitcher brothers or have any special reason to clean up the park? Besides, the borough cannot rely on the goodwill of its citizens alone to empty trash cans and pay the electric bill for proposed security lights and cameras. Will some sort of trust fund be setup by the borough with enough principal so that the interest could be used to pay for the additional maintenance, monitoring, etc? That has not been proposed and even if it were, doesn't the borough have better ways to benefit the community with such resources?
It is complete fantasy to believe that the maintenance of this skate park would not cost the borough tax dollars.
Assumption of Approval and Support
The website for the skate park, has for some time contained language indicating that the community / borough was behind this effort whole-heartedly. It is not. See our petition page for an update on how many people have signed on to say that this skate park is not appropriate in our Dormont Park.
In addition, their website is already listing materials needed, asking for material donations and soliciting contractors. They are already operating under the assumption that they will have this skate park here in Dormont Park, though none of this has been approved or even discussed with the municipality until recently (publicly for the 1st time on 7/27/2009)!
Premature Collection of Donations
Before a plan was completed and before the idea was even brought to Dormont Council, supporters of the skate park have been collecting donations. This is completely backwards. What happens to those donations if this skate park is never built? What if people contributed to have a skate park in Dormont, but it gets built elsewhere? Cash donations with no receipts are unlikely to be returned. It is a sad and not too uncommon approach to push an idea forward, communicating that success is assured and asking for help, ignoring practical concerns (maintenance costs, burden on the community) when the path ahead is completely misunderstood.
Conclusion
We want to reiterate that no disrespect is intended in this effort to express our concerns. We wish Mrs. Pitcher and her family the best and hope they will construct a great skate park in a more appropriate location in a more appropriate community. We encourage the skateboarders to maintain the skate park there, if it is constructed, in such a way as to help dispel the negative image skateboarders have in the eyes of many.