San Jose Skatepark

**sk8norcal** · 04-03-2008 04:27 PM

News & Culture in San Jose, CA | Lake Cunningham Skatepark

w/ cover photo, san jose metro is the local free rag...

opening 4/26

Although everyone agrees that the park is a massive benefit to San Jose, they admit that the mandatory pads rule might turn off a few folks, as will the fees, which are $2 per day or $50 per year—along with a $6 for parking.

"It's a great park, but it's already got two negatives against it as far as the street skaters go," explained Caballero. "Street skaters don't like to wear pads. It's not very comfortable for them. They can get away with helmets, but wearing knee pads and elbow pads—it just doesn't feel like street skating. It's like something else. It doesn't feel natural. That, and paying to get in and paying to park. So I would say three negatives."

Manak equates it to charging people to ride swings and Stevens adds: "You're not charging the basketball players to use the basketball hoops, are you? So why this?"

He also says he'd rather see an option to wear pads, at least for adults. "Make 'em wear a helmet and let 'em choose to wear pads," he tells me. "A lot of the vert skaters—a lot of the guys now don't even wear pads, which is insane. I DJ a lot of these contests and a lot of these guys going through these things—there's three guys at once going through the bowl—there's been some places where guys have gotten their teeth knocked out and concussions and #### like that. #### happens, you know. But I guess if I was a parent, I'd want to know that junior in there is safe and wearing pads and all. But even if you're wearing pads, you can still get ruined sometimes."

Caballero agrees. "I understand wearing a helmet, 'cause you could fall and hurt your head," he says. "But if you're over 18 and have that aspect of being an adult and making your own proper decisions, then you should be able to skate at your own risk."

Just tell that to all the ambulance drivers.

"The ambulance is going to be at this park a lot. I can tell you that," he says. "It's gnarly. It's got some big stuff, so there's going to be a lot of blood and broken ankles. And that's because skateboarding is dangerous. It's like you're at a motocross track. The ambulance is going to show up. Someone's going to get hurt."

**skategeezer** · 04-03-2008 05:32 PM

three words:

OH
MY
GAWD

**Aaron Breetwor** · 04-03-2008 05:39 PM

I tried to get up there last sunday because caliskatz said it would be open in the end of march. I ended up just going to one of the other SJ parks, but I'm super stoked for this one.

**Whoa.there.tiger.** · 04-03-2008 08:56 PM

bay area silver fishers want to carpool to save on parking?
this looks so sick. stoked beyond stoked

**PuppY_K1ck3R** · 04-03-2008 09:15 PM

Down the street from my pad. My buddy is gonna ride it with his mountainboard. He and I used to ride the vans skatepark in milpitas with our mountainboards.

**skategeezer** · 04-04-2008 05:07 AM

i can't believe what San Jose has built...truly awe-inspiring...

**Wells** · 04-04-2008 10:05 AM

Football is more than twice as dangerous as skateboarding per hour of activity. Do they have articles about concussions, broken ankles, blood, and ambulances when a new football field opens up?

Also, fuck pads. I'll wear them if I absolutely have to; but I'm an adult and can assess my own risks.

**elementalzoo** · 04-05-2008 07:59 AM

Originally Posted by Wells

Also, fuck pads. I'll wear them if I absolutely have to; but I'm an adult and can assess my own risks.

**Cranks** · 04-06-2008 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Wells

Football is more than twice as dangerous as skateboarding per hour of activity. Do they have articles about concussions, broken ankles, blood, and ambulances when a new football field opens up?

Also, fuck pads. I'll wear them if I absolutely have to; but I'm an adult and can assess my own risks.

do you think they made a rule about pads just because they felt like it? Have you ever tried to get insurance for something like a skatepark? Charging for it and making mandatory safety equipment looks to me like SJ is having trouble paying the bills, so they make the rules about pads to drop the premiums, and then charge 2$ to help pay them.

**Tai** · 04-06-2008 11:22 AM

Well I don't mind the $2/$50 per year fees, but pay for parking? I think that's not right. Think about it this way, you have to pay to use the roller skating rink. They're probably charging because it's NOT a public skate park although I could be wrong. And plus this thing looks freakin awesome!

The mandatory pads thingy, well I think it's a good idea, although the pads are restricting. But if you all want other parks to start popping up and other cool places like this to skate, then well I think that pads are just a drop in the bucket for an opportunity like this. Further more although we're adults and all, we should set an example for the youngsters and wear the freakin pads and helmets.

**Aaron Breetwor** · 04-06-2008 11:29 AM

sounds like somebody needs to get on the ball and innovate some new less restricting pads. hmmmm but how would you keep the same amount of protection?

**Wells** · 04-07-2008 12:36 AM

You can strap on the pads if you want; but I don't rock them unless I'm seriously skating vertical or over-vertical terrain.

What bugs me about the whole insurance thing is that there has never been a successful skateboarding liability lawsuit; so they're spending all this money to insure themselves against something that's never happened and is unlikely to happen in the future.

Furthermore, mandating pads and helmets and having supervision opens them up to lawsuits in the future: if there are no pad/helmet rules and nobody expected to enforce them, you can't be sued for neglecting to enforce them if someone cracks their skull sans helmet.