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Monday, November 26, 2001 Utah News The new public skatepark in Jordan, Utah will have bike sessions.
BMX Riders Organization, Utah Chapter From Dan I met with the SLC Public Services director last Tuesday. At the least, bikes will have some designated times at the new Jordan Skate Park (900 S 900 W). The park won't open until late March 2002. It was about halfway done when the big snowstorms hit this weekend (2.5 feet at my house and it's still snowing!). I took the new Macneil park pegs and a S&M sprocket + guard with me. (Thanks a million to Macneil and S&M for sending the stuff to me!) The director was pretty stoked to see that the BMX industry is doing something to address the damage to parks associated with pegs and sprockets. I'll be sure to announce the BMX times when they are decided next year. 10/10/01: Here's the latest news for Utah: The Cottonwood Heights park is open for bikes on Monday and THURSDAY nights from 6:00 - 9:00 and Sunday mornings from 7:00 - 12:00. They switched the Wednesday night to Thursday. Please take note of that...and GO! The Sandy park is open and CROWDED. If you go at night, please watch out for one another and BE NICE! There have been quite a few collisions (by all users) and the paramedics have been there over 15 times! There's been talk of separating bikes, skateboards, and inliners, but I don't think anyone really wants that. Keep your eyes open and take turns. This park rules between 8:00am and 2:00pm. When school's out, guess where the kids go? St. George has agreed to allow bikes at their new park on a six-month trial basis on Fridays only. Anyone in that area, please ride the hell out of that park on Fridays! You should bring a gatorade for Curtis, too, because he's the reason you're riding there! Still no bikes allowed at Park City and Ogden. Now that winter's approaching, the cops don't mind you riding Ogden. They'll even pull up and watch for a while then leave. Park City will be filled with snow in a month or so, so it's really not an issue right now. Still no word on the Logan park. Any Logan riders out there? What's going on? Construction is beginning this week on the Salt Lake City park. Bikes will have limited access, but no times have been set. A new BRO-Utah t-shirt is in the works. It will have the "BMX IS NOT A CRIME" bar logo on front (like the old skate sticker) and an original drawing by SLC's own Skier Jay on the sleeve. I'll have a preliminary design this week that will hopefully be on the website in a few weeks. That's all for now. Take care and be aware... dan onemangang rivers From Dan: 8/21/01: OK everyone! Stay out of the St. George, Utah park for now. Curtis Broadbent is talking with city officials and is very close to getting access to the park! Riding the park while it is closed (to everyone) will only hurt his progress. Give it a little time and BMX may well have authorized times to ride. Thanks for the support. It looks like Curtis Broadbent is now an official BRO rep for southern Utah. I'll still be workin' it in the north and he will be the man for the south. SO, anyone interested in helping Curtis out, email him at curtisbroadbent@hotmail.com . Two new amazing parks in northern Utah, Park City and Logan. Neither allow bikes and are pretty adamant about it. The parks have been ridden and they rule! Legal access may not be accomplished anytime soon but I am trying. The Logan locals are starting a campaign (Mike...you better be!) for bike access. 8/5/01: From Matt Metcalf of St. George, Utah: My town is getting a new cement skatepark and the word so far is that bikes will not be allowed in. I've written several letters and talked to members on the skatepark comittee. And other riders in town have began to put out pettitions in hope that we can change their minds. We have made a little progress, but things still aren't looking so good. My reason for writing this letter is that the park will be opening on Saturday the 11th. I am trying to get as many bike riders as I can to show up and show their support for bike access. We will be there from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm . St. George is in Utah and is the second to last city before Las Vegas (only 1 1/2 hours away). I-15 runs right through St. George and the skatepark is right off I-15, so if you go by, then you can't miss it. From Dan: 7/25/01: The Sandy City skate park opening has been pushed back to September 5, 2001. Not only a later opening, but the original design of 27,000 square feet was reduced to about 15,000 square feet. However, bikes are still allowed at all times, so that's a good thing. Park City's new park is so good. Bikes are not allowed at all. The Park and Recreation department says they will not budge on this. They have "conferred with experts" and have concluded that "the design is for skateboarders and inline skaters, not bikes." Also, "bikes and skateboarders just don't mix." We've all heard these responses before. I believe there must be some type of architectural-anti-bike Gestapo out there. Every city says that the designer/architects tell them that the parks are not designed for bikes. With 7, 8, 9, and 10 ft deep bowls, this park is perfect for bikes. I know this because I pumped through the bowls for about an hour on my bike last Saturday. The skaters were completely cool about it. They just asked that I "please stay off of the pool coping." (The 10 ft bowl has pool coping around one corner.) "No problem." 7/17/01: OK---the fight is on! Park City seemed to build their new park overnight. It is open and bikes are not allowed. The park is one of the best I've seen. To sum it up...it has a 10 ft-deep bowl. Cottonwood Heights added another bike session to the mix. It is on Monday night from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The other sessions are Wednesday and Friday morning 7:00am to 12 noon. St. George, UT is building a park with no intention of allowing bikes. My man Curtis is on it, but anyone in the St. George area needs to make some calls to the Park and Rec Dept. That's all for now. See y'all in the pit... 6/9/01: On June 8, 2001 I was interviewed at the Cottonwood Heights skate park for a local television show, "Utah Alive." They introduced me and I basically talked about BRO, what we do, what we stand for, and where we're coming from. It was only about a minute long or so, but BMX got another time slot at the park! It will be on Monday or Tuesday evening beginning in a week or so. I will let everyone know. The show is a local "news magazine" type show. I think it only airs in Utah (sorry NY!). It wasn't anything great. I mumbled a little and had a few "and uuhhhh's" in there, but overall it was cool. 6/7/01: Cottonwood Heights is open and a really fun place to ride. Many, many, many complaints about the BMX hours...by BMX riders. The hours are from 7:00 am to noon on Wednesday and Friday. However, a large chunk of BMX riders actually work (can you believe that?) and are not able to ride this park. At unauthorized times, the closed-circuit cameras around the park give you up to security in a matter of minutes. So, we have separate hours, but are not able to utilize them. I had a great talk with Susan from the C. H. Rec Center on Sunday afternoon. She believes that everyone should share the park at all times. I'll spare the details, but we have inside support. I am pushing for two things: (1) BMX hours should NOT be BMX only. Let anyone ride and/or skate and it will show that all users can easily share the facilities. (2) BMX hours should include AT LEAST one evening per week, but I'm going for two nights (the park is open until 9:00 pm). Take care, be aware, and I'll see you in the pit! 5/15/01: Well, I just came from the Cottonwood Heights grand opening. It was awesome. Tons of kids and adults, the C. H. Board of Directors, a radio station, and a local news reporter. The ribbon was cut, everyone went in, and the first demo was BMX! Elf, Tim Thompson, Pantystain (boy), and Mike Aitken (Cru Jones) rode in the demo. Everyone cheered and supported them. Next was a skateboard demo by the Milo team. Afterwards, everyone was let loose into the park. It was a complete madhouse, but smiling faces were everywhere! The park rules! Look for some photos on the web site soon. BMX hours are Wednesday and Friday from sun-up until noon. Respect these rules and more time will be awarded! The park is fenced, has two motion detector video cameras, and security guards at night for the next two months. Hopefully, this park will host a BRO Fun Games Jam/contest in the near future. A huge thanks to Mike Peterson at Cottonwood Heights Rec Center for supporting BMX! 4/25/01: Well, summers upon us and we are ready to ride! There is one place that we WONT be riding this summer, and that is the Taylorsville, UT public skatepark. Many No Bikes Allowed signs were erected on Monday, April 23, 2001. I called the city coordinator, John Morgan, and here is how the conversation went (roughly): Hi. This is Dan Rivers with the BMX Riders Organization. I noticed that a bunch of No Bikes Allowed signs were put up at the skatepark along with a big fence. Can you tell me what brought this on? Well, the park was never designed for bikes. When it first opened, all of the No Bikes signs were stolen. Really? I was there on opening day and never saw any signs. In fact, the rules sign didnt even mention bikes anywhere on it. I was there on my bike a few weeks later and some parents were yelling at me that bikes werent allowed. I walked to the Rules sign and pointed out that there was no rule banning bikes. That same day I called your office and was told that bikes were allowed. There was some confusion then, but the rule has always been no bikes. We werent really enforcing it. Plus, the liability is just too great. The other day we had a guy on a bike hit an eight-year-old kid, and then yelled at him for being in the way. Then theres also the issue of the gears (the sprocket) tearing up the concrete. Yeah, thats too bad. Theres always going to be the few park users that think everyone is always in their way. They dont know or dont understand basic skatepark etiquette, like taking turns. But, this is a skatepark and theres bound to be accidents every now and then. Whether its a collision or just someone gets hurt, is that a reason to not allow bikes? Well As far as damage goes, I can understand steep transitions with no coping getting chipped up by sprockets. Thats true. BUT, what about the skateboard trucks and the inline skates? They grind these ledges, too. Im a skater as well as bike rider, and I know that Ive grinded those ledges. Not putting coping on them was just asking for trouble. It might save money on initial construction, but over time it will cost more than the coping would have. That is true. But like every other city, money was tight for the project. Yeah, I can understand that. It was awesome that you even built it. I think you were the first in the Salt Lake Valley. I heard rumors that you were expanding. What can you tell me about that? Well, thats the reason for that fence. Were putting in restrooms, landscaping, and parking. The actual skatepark area is done. Its as big as its going to get. We are looking at sites for a separate bike park because I know the demand is high. I think it will be better and safer to separate bikes from the skaters. That would be great. Most cities arent willing to spend that kind of money. If you are anywhere near the planning stages, Id like to be a part of it. Yeah, no problem. Its probably a few months off but we are sure it will happen. I know how it is. I work for Salt Lake City and its a wonder that anything ever gets done. But, you have my number so please let me know when the planning and designing start. OK. Sounds good. Thanks for you time. Goodbye. And so, it begins again. Taylorsville really isnt =that great of a park, but its the principle Im fighting for. A lot of kids ride there every day. And "if the kids are united, they will never be divided." Until next time, take care and be aware. 4/11/01: Here is the latest news: The Cottonwood Heights Skate Park has scheduled its grand opening for May 12, 2001. There will be demos by skateboarders, inline skaters, and BMX riders, plus the usual grand opening festivities. The park is about 15,000 square feet and is located at 2300 East Bengal Blvd, SLC, UT (directly across the street from Brighton High School). This park was built as a joint effort between SL County and the Cottonwood Heights Rec Center. Bikes are allowed Wednesday and Friday from Sun-up until noon. This isnt what I was pushing for, but I feel its a great start. Mike Peterson at CHRC supported BMX from the get-go and it was all he could do to get those two days. I know it probably wont happen, but please try to respect these rules. If the park gets a positive vibe from the BMX riders, BMX days will most likely increase. Another skate park is almost completed in Tooele, UT. It should be open in about a month if it stops snowing long enough to put on the finishing touches. This will be Tooeles second skate park. I havent seen the plans, but I know that bikes are allowed in their skate parks at all times. The existing park has small transitions and obstacles, but is still super fun.There will now be four (4!) skate parks in theTooele/Skull Valley, all within 20 minutes of one another. For those that are not familiar with Utah, Tooele is about 30 minutes west of SLC. Rumor has it that Logan, UT has just broke ground for a new public skate park. Ive tried to get info on that, but Ive had no callbacks from Logans Park and Rec. Ill have to follow up on that. Logan is a college town (Utah State University) and has a local crew of riders. Well see what happens Ogden, UT. They have an incredible public park. Everyone has seen the photos of Fuzzy and Aitken ruling the place. Of course, no bikes are allowed. Ive spoken with the Park & Rec director, Annette Cottle, and she was open to ideas. She said the main thing holding her back was the skate park architect.The architect says that the park is not designed for bikes. This is ridiculous, but being a city government employee myself, this kind of statement will cause all sorts of nonsense and hold-ups. Ive showed her the photos printed in Ride BMX mag of the park and given her all of the BRO info. I know one thing ever since our meeting, no tickets have been given to BMX riders, just warnings and a photo taken of the perpetrator. Salt Lake City has reversed their no bikes allowed policy and talks are underway with the Park & Rec director and the Mayor to work out a solution. Now that most of the new parks are allowing bikes, I have some great ammo to use. Ive also given the Mayor a copy of Ride BMX (I thought BMXA might be a little racy) and Beringers video, The Beginning. Park City is lagging. I dont know what their damage is. Who knows if their park will even be built this year?? 3/13/01 Well, we now have a new example to use in Sandy City, Utah. They have joined the ranks of Albuquerque, NM, etc. The city has spent a little over $275,000 on a new 28,000 square foot outdoor, concrete, free skatepark that is designed for skateboarders, BMX riders, and inline skaters. The park has a "shallow" end for the beginners (3'), and slopes down into 5 and 6 feet tall bowls, spines, hips, and "volcanoes." There is an "island" in the middle shaped like an elongated "8." The coolest thing is that you can hit 2 true spines in a row, followed by 3 hips, the last two being in and out of a complete bowl. Sick. There are rails and ledges (flat and angled) all along the perimeter. The lines in this park seem endless. The park is located at 10100 South 700 East, just south of the Dimple Dell Golf Course and soccer complex, and is scheduled to open on July 24, 2001. 3/8/01: Utah is becoming a haven for public skate parks. It seems every town is jumping on the bandwagon, but all have different views as far as bicycles are concerned. As of March 8, 2001, I know of 16 public skate parks in the State of Utah that are either existing or under construction. Of the 9 existing parks, 6 of them allow bikes. The three remaining parks' Parks and Recreation Departments are under a constant assault of phone calls and letters from me. I'm making little progress with these stubborn folks, but as I've said before, "all this negative energy just makes me stronger." Of the 7 under construction, 2 will allow bikes, 1 decision is pending (but looks promising), 2 say outright "no bikes," and the remaining 2 are sitting on the fence. I have a meeting Friday, March 9, 2001 with the P&R director of Sandy City (SLC suburb). They have a new 28,000 square foot park under construction where bikes are welcome! I am going to check out the final designs and models. I'll report back soon with the layout of the park. I have also started circulating the BRO "Why Aren't Bikes Allowed in Public Skateparks" petition. I have copies in 4 Wasatch Front (SL & Ut valleys) bike shops and three private skateparks. I've gotten over 100 names in less than a week! This will be a useful tool in the future. BRO-Utah (which currently consists of myself) has a 10 minute meeting with the Mayor of SLC in April. I have a contact in the Mayor's Office who has graciously offered to help aim my presentation towards the Mayor's weaknesses. Stay tuned for more updates. For more info on Utah public skate parks, check the BRO skate park list, the South West Regional News in RideBMX, or feel free to email me a question at: danonemangangrivers@yahoo.com keywords: utah public skateparks |
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