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Skaters for Public Skateparks
AXIS OF EVIL sent this out as a bulletin, but I'm gonna steal it four our "about me"......
We live in a world with infinite boundaries. The possibilities for skateboarding right now are endless. All over the world skateparks are springing up left and right.
Except we don't want our skateparks to spring up like weeds; we want them to blossom like precious flowers and be cherished for generations. With that totally gay analogy out of the way, I bring you Skaters For Public Skateparks.
As of November 2005, SPS has over 800 members, 150 of which are what we consider "core" members, most of which are working at an intimate level within over 130+ US and Canadian cities. Our advocacy is not limited to skateparks; in Tacoma, Washington we legalized street skating and removed 187 Skate Stoppers, freeing the S-ledges to skating. Similar efforts are underway in Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere.
Legalizing street skating? No fucking way! But why not?
As of 2004, where were 10,600.000 skaters in the US. Do you know what that means? There are four times as many of us as there are soldiers in the entire US military. Think about it: we're a fucking army.
We are, on average, 14 years old, and as any skater can tell you: fearless and not shy about getting hurt. We're also in good dammed shape, and most of us are smarter than average.
So why do we get pushed around by cities who let the elderly, the frail, and the obese dictate what we can and cannot skate? Hell no.
So you live in a town of 10,000 people? Did you know that, if you live in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, or New Mexico statistics demonstrate that there's approximately 700 skaters in your town, on average? Even in places like Virginia, where there's less skaters than other areas, you can expect to have 230 skaters in your little town.
Did you know that this means your town is obligated to provide 50,000 square feet of skatepark (if you are in one of the towns within the "Mountain" region)? Or 16,500 square feet of skatepark (if you live in a town in the "South Atlantic," which statistically has less skaters per capita than elsewhere in the US)?
A 16,000 sq/ft skatepark is a big one, especially when you live in a town of just 10,000 people. But don't get shy: we can illustrate why that is, in fact, the absolute minimum of what's acceptable. If they want you to stop street skating, they sure as fuck better provide alternatives. We're here to help you make that case.
We use statistics to demonstrate what we term "recreational inequity." That means that while cities like Portland, Oregon have 193 baseball fields, Portland's estimated 20,000 skaters are chased from spot to spot by cops, with too few alternatives.
We call bullshit. In Portland our members successfully advocated for the approval of a plan that includes 19 skateparks. You heard right.
You want some of that in your town? Hook up with us, join our ranks, help us out. We're a fucking army, and we're not down with what's happening now.
Spread the word: tell other skaters:
Skaters for Public Skateparks
