Carmel Valley Skate Park now free, unsupervised

By Matt Liebowitz

The new Carmel Valley Skate Park will no longer be supervised and that is cause for concern for some local residents.
Located next to the San Diego Police Department’s Northwestern Division Police Station near the intersection of El Camino Real and Townsgate Drive, the 33,000 square-foot skate park, built with a budget of $3 million allotted by the San Diego City Council, opened on Nov. 22.
In place at the park’s opening was a $5 a day charge membership policy, which paid for the park to be fully staffed and supervised. A three-month pass sold for $30. But less than a month after opening, the policy was changed, and now, effective Jan. 1, the park will be free and unsupervised.
It’s a change that has angered at least one Carmel Valley parent, a woman who wished to be identified only as Michelle. Her 9-year-old son paid for a three-month membership, and uses the park “without fail at least twice a week.”
With the policy change, Michelle has chosen to no longer allow him to skate there.
“This is not only a breach of my son’s membership and our good faith payment to the park,” said Michelle, “but also a serious breach of confidence.”
Michelle insisted that her frustration is not focused on the fee; her son paid it himself, and will be getting a pro-rated refund, said San Diego City District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner. Michelle said her primary concern is her son’s safety, and the betrayal of trust.
“My issue is that we were told from day one that this facility would be supervised,” Michelle explained. “That is what bothers me the most.”
Problematic to Michelle are the groups of children who, prior to the policy change, she saw “meandering outside the park.”
“They are not there to skate,” Michelle said, “they are merely there to hang out. Our children finally have a safe environment to skate and stay out of any potential danger. It is comforting that they are denied access if they do not have a membership and proper pads. ”
With the policy change and the absence of park supervision, Michelle added, “Now anyone will be allowed to enter and there will be no safety regulations. All it will take is one child to get hurt and/or harmed, then maybe they will re-address this.”
Michelle also claimed that park administrators accepted prepayment with the knowledge that the park would become free, but again adamantly explained, “It’s not just about the $30, it’s equally about the betrayal of public trust as well as its seemingly obvious misrepresentation of taxpayers and voters of this community.”
Clay Bingham, deputy director of Parks 1 with the San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, explained that the policy change was a result of City Council’s mid-year budget reductions at its Dec. 9 meeting.
Although these actions took place 17 days after the Nov. 22 opening, Bingham said the skate park staff was informed from day one that the park would become free. With that knowledge, Bingham said park staff were instructed to inform parents or kids accordingly, telling them to only purchase a three-month pass if they knew they would use the park six times or more before Jan. 1.
“We try to take care of our costumers,” said Bingham. “They were being told from the time the park opened.”
Addressing Michelle’s safety concerns, Bingham explained that, although unstaffed, there are still measures in place to ensure safety. Prior to Jan. 1, there will be three-by-six foot signs (two outside the gates and two inside) displaying park rules.
The rules indicate that a parent or guardian must accompany any child under 14, helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads are required, no bikes, scooters, or motorized vehicles are allowed, and visitors not skating are required to remain outside the park. Under statewide legislation, the signs limit the city’s liability, said Bingham.
Free, unstaffed, city-owned skate parks in Poway, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Los Angeles all successfully operate in a similar manner, said Bingham.
“Skaters seem to be strong on self-regulation,” added Bingham. “They try to take care of the parks, they see them as a wonderful asset.”
Bingham said he wrote Michelle a letter explaining the city’s position. Although at press time she had not come to the city office to pick up her refund, Bingham believes, “she understands why we did it.”