Grindline has been tapped to build the new IB Skatepark located at the Imperial Beach Sports Park Recreation Center. Construction begins January 2010. The original wooden park was forced to be dismantled due to deterioration in 2004. The IB4skateparks Community Advocacy Group has been working with the city since 2008 to get the park built.
Grindline has built two parks in Oceanside:
Martin Luther King Skatepark
Melba Bishop Skatepark
As you may have heard, AB 874 is a bill introduced by San Diego Assemblymember Lori Saldaña. It calls to remove the clause requiring elbow and knee pads from the laws affecting public skateparks.
Most serious injuries occur when skateboarders get hit by cars, collide with pedestrians or due accidents caused by uneven or rough surfaces. Knee & elbow pads seldom prevent serious injury yet act as a deterrant to kids enjoying their skatepark thereby sending them back to the streets – the most dangerous place for skateboarding. The intent of AB 874 is to make kids safer, not less so.
Many California cities have realized this fact and, in the face of added liability, have stopped enforcing the pad requirement.
In short, the current pad requirement makes skateboarders less safe, not moreso, because it discourages them from enjoying our safe public skateparks and forces them to the most dangerous place to skateboard. Simultaneously, it increases liability for municipalities that have chosen to disregard the pad requirement in an effort to encourage their youth to practice in the most safe environment possible.
This study, published in the “Journal of Trauma,” studied skateboard-associated injuries for a 12-year period from 1987-1998. The study finds that skateboarding is a comparatively safe sport, having less than half the participant-based injuries as basketball or football and less than either bicycling or snowboarding. For our purposes, the study also notes that the more serious injuries resulting in hospitalization typically involve a crash with a motor vehicle. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REPORT
AB 874 has passed the Assembly. The final vote was 76-0. This means that every member of the Assembly voted for the bill except four members who were likely not on the floor at the time the vote was taken. The missing members were (Wes Chesbro – Dem, North Coast; Jean Fuller – Rep, Bakersfield; John Perez – Dem, Los Angeles; and Norma Torres – Dem, Pomona).
The bill is currently in the Senate where it will likely be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The members of the Judiciary Committee are Chairwoman Corbett – Dem, Hayward; Vice Chair Harman – Rep, Costa Mesa; Florez – Dem, Bakersfield; Leno – Dem, San Francisco; and Walters – Rep, Rancho Santa Margarita.
Because our author is an Assemblymember, if anybody wants to make a move against us, it’s way more likely to happen on the Senate side. This is compounded by the fact that Chairwoman Corbett owes her election to the Trial Lawyers.
HOW TO HELP?
WRITE YOUR LOCAL SENATOR, YOUR AGE DOES NOT MATTER.
Local senators can be found at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/memberinfo (just type in your zip code.)
Here is a draft letter that can be used.
Dear Senator (insert the name or names of the senator in YOUR district):
I am contacting you regarding Assembly Bill 874 (Saldana). I am a [skateboarder, parent of a skateboarder, skateboarding advocate, concerned citizen, etc.] who resides in your district. I urge you to support and vote for AB 874, which removes the requirement of wearing elbow pads and knee pads at public skateparks and makes them helmet required only.
Although counterintuitive, current law threatens child safety by prohibiting skaters without pads from using the safest possible environment for skateboarding (public skateparks) and forces them into the most dangerous place to skateboard (our cities streets, sidewalks, and parking lots).
AB 874 represents a more realistic and practical application of Section 115800. Passage of AB 874 encourages more kids to use public skateparks, eliminating the dangers of traffic, uneven surfaces and pedestrians.
Again, I kindly urge you to support AB 874.
Thank you.
(Your Name)
(Your Address)
Cc: Senate Judiciary – via fax (916-445-8390)
Assemblywoman Lori Saldana – via fax (916-319-2076)
