At the Culver City Skate Park, the new wrought iron fence (foreground) is not completed yet;
on the background, part of the original chain link type still remains. (Photo: Luiz Calado)
The re-opening of the Culver City Skate Park was scheduled for today, September 21st.
But, as predicted by this column, it did not happen.
The park was closed early July so the fences around the facility could be exchanged – reportedly, the original chain link fence had been vandalized with bolt cutters, which demanded the complete substitution of the enclosures to wrought iron kind.
Now, parking on the street
is also prohibited.
(Photo: Luiz Calado)
However, the constant delays in the finishing of the project has become more than a nuisance to the local skateboarding community.
The city does not provide an alternative lawful skate spot and, according to Bill La Pointe, Director of Culver City Parks, Recreation and Community Services, until the project is finished, the facility is under the rule of the contractor, Bobco Metals.
Meanwhile, parking on the street in front of the area has been prohibited: a tow-away sign warns that the restriction will last until September 30 – likely the date when the project will be finally concluded.
At this point, a small part of the original fences still remains; the back and sides of the area seem to be done. However, a close inspection reveals numerous gaps in the connections where the railings are to be welded to supporting poles.
Many gaps at the welding spots are clearly noticeable on the new fence. (Photo: Luiz Calado)At any rate, it is improbable that the new fence will deter break-ins – on the contrary.
At its lowest height, the fence is about 7.5 feet tall. By propping a skateboard upright against the metal bars, most teenagers would have enough leverage to climb it over. Once inside, reaching for the board and tossing it over the barrier could not be easier.
At a price tag of $60,000, one wonders what else could have been done with the money spent on the fences. Staffing the skate park is an idea that comes to mind.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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Comments
Way to waste money. Why does that thing need a fence? There is no fence to keep people out of the rest of the park. Lame.
The City of Culver City has proved its incompetence over and over. They ran out of money to keep streetlights on, so they had to turn them off 3 nites a week. They mismanaged Sony public arts money, so they had to turn it back to Sony to spend on ugly fixtures on Washington. It's not surprising they screwed up here, small minded deli and hardware store owners looking to only line their own pockets should not be allowed in office. As one local landlord said "you can buy these guys off with a few dinners"
For $60,000 dollars, they could have hired a security guard at night. Makes no sense at all.
Bill La Pointe NEEDS THE BOOT NOW
Been passing by for months wondering what was going on. That is just ridiculous. The CCpark is the goto when there's no surf.
But I do agree they should enforce pads. Keeps the crowds down :)
What's the fence for? They build a skatepark and put a bunch of restrictions and rules. Go skate but read the fine print?!??... Land of the free, what a joke! We don't need fences unless we use them to grind or jump over.
I have spoken to many people and kept up with this debacle. Comes down to crime.... Culver is concerned about the crime at the park, not necessarily the liability issue of pads. CC should hire security for the park and not blame the criminal events on the sk8ers, most of the trouble doesn't even skate.
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