Skate on
It appears – for the moment at least – that all hope is not lost for skateboarders. Tuesday at Deering Oaks Park in Portland skateboarders will be welcomed with open arms.
As part of the city parks and recreation department’s "Summer in the Parks" concerts, the first slot will be going to Portland’s own "The Leftovers."
Touring after their recently released album, "On The Move," the rock/punk/pop band will be back in town for the free show at the bandstand beginning at 7:30 p.m.
But this will not just be another "bring a blanket and some cold-cuts" type of affair, as the guys from Ride 207 will be setting up ramps and rails on the road that cuts through the park.
The ramps will be set up by 5 p.m., leaving plenty of time to skate before the show.
If the weather goes bad the events will be postponed. For more info call parks and recreation at 756-8275 or check out their Web site.
Most of you already know Portland is currently minus a skate park, with no immediate new possibilities.
As we talked about earlier this month, the absence of a skate park in the city can cause all sorts of hassles for people. If skateboarders have no place to go, then they skate on the streets and parks, which can create problems for business owners, who then raise the issue with cops.
Of course the real question appears to be why it’s taking the city so long to find a new location for a park, since the issue has been under discussion for over a year. As a heads-up, the City Council is supposed to be discussing the issue at its meeting Monday at City Hall.
All of this is made even more complicated because skateboarding on city streets is illegal – so please use a bike, scooter or motorized cart. Safety first.
Ted Musgrave from Portland’s Parks and Recreation Department said the event was designed to give young kids a venue to skate and an activity that the whole family could come down to.
Posted by at 02:43 PM
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