In favor of public skateboard park

It floors me how some people love to attack the teenagers in our community but are not willing to do anything to help the situation.

Kids skateboarding at parks and public places is a problem that should be addressed. The concerns I have heard with building a public skateboard park are injury liability and the funds to build the park. Skateboarding is on the hazardous recreational activities list along with football, softball, soccer and a long list of other sports, so the city would not be responsible for any injuries sustained at a park.

Colleen Janssen of Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District stated in the July 27 story that "taxpayers foot the bill for park damages and hospital bills." What hospital bills (due to the hazardous recreational activities list) and how much has been spent by RSRPD to repair concrete or railings due to skateboarding in 2007? If the city truly spends that much fixing things, wouldn't it be more cost effective to build them a place to skate?

Ventura County has seven public skate parks, the closest being in Camarillo. They take up much less space than a dog park and cost a fraction to maintain.

In the Aug. 10 Simi Valley Acorn there is a story about the park expansion at the Sinaloa Golf Course. RSRPD is expanding the park by putting in a miniature golf course, water park elements and an arcade. Once again there were some residents who voiced their opposition to this family area. Their argument was traffic jams (what a joke), loss of open space (anyone who knows the location thinks it looks like a vacant lot) and out-of-control teens. Once again, willing to complain but not to solve the problem.

Every park in Simi Valley caters to young children, adults and now dogs, but what about the teens? It seems that everyone agrees that something should be done, but the standard answer is "not in my neighborhood." If we don't do something in our neighborhood and give them a place to go and enjoy, then things will just get worse.

Give them direction and they won't become out of control. John Russo Simi Valley