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Skate Park to be repaved

Sonoma’s BMX bike riders may not be rejoicing, but they, along with the local skateboard crowd, have reason to celebrate.

  That’s because a public meeting Wednesday night opened the window on the future of public ramp and jump facilities in Sonoma, and the future is looking brighter.

  Freestyle BMXers, who ride specially designed bicycles with metal pegs for sliding along hard edges (grinding), single gears and short, rugged frames, have been lobbying for years to have a park of their own.

  Many BMXers frequent the Sonoma Skate Park, built 10 years ago exclusively for skateboarders in Maxwell Farms Regional Park, because it is the only public place in the Valley where riders can practice freestyle, aerial tricks.

  But grinding with metal bike parts can break down the concrete surface of the skate park contours and, even though some local BMXers say they have switched to plastic pegs and pedals, city authorities insist bikes can not be allowed in the park and police will begin cracking down on riders.

  But during Wednesday night’s meeting at the Boys & Girls Club, possible plans were unveiled for a BMX “pump” track on a plot of ground just south of the skate park. The track would include a series of contoured earthen bumps or ramps riders could fly off to catch enough air for freestyle tricks.

  Beyond that, the city will begin resurfacing the cracked and chipped portions of the skate park Dec. 19 (weather permitting) and hopes to finish the $25,000 project by the end of the year.

  Additional plans envisioned for the skate park include moving the fence away from the bench areas so that skaters can make more complete use of all surfaces, and so trash will not be relentlessly crammed between the edge of the park and the surrounding fence.

  City officials would also like to install a drinking fountain, shade structures with picnic tables (possibly utilizing solar panels to provide the shade) and maybe even a low grandstand so spectators can better watch the action.

  Rob Wilson, owner of Sonoma Old School Skate and Surf shop, and current sponsor of the skate park, said he has already secured a donated water fountain, and the next step will be to run a water line to the skate park from the area of the tennis courts.

  And, promised Sonoma Public Works Director Milenka Bates, there is a high probability that security cameras will be installed on site to cut down on illegal activity, like drug, use, drinking and unsafe behavior.

  “We want to make this place the most family-friendly place possible,” said Sgt. Dave Thompson, with the Sonoma Police Department. Thompson emphasized that police will be enforcing the city ordinance governing use of the skate park, because they have to. That includes the requirement that skaters wear helmets along with elbow- and kneepads.

  He sympathized with skaters who find the pads restrictive and feel they’re unnecessary, but he explained the pads are required by the state’s Health and Safety Code and other city’s skate parks have been shut down because of injury lawsuits.

  And, he made clear, bike riders inside the skate park will be cited, with a $50 fine for the first offense.

  Plans for the BMX track include taking down the dirt berms that currently surround the skate park that are now viewed as limiting security sightlines, and moving the dirt a few yards south to the plot of land envisioned for the pump track.

  Wilson also said he had contacted licensed engineering contractors willing to volunteer to help shape a pump track.

  But during the Wednesday meeting, at which between 30 and 40 BMXers and skaters were present, it became clear that the BMX contingent was interested in participating in the design and construction of the track themselves, and several youth eagerly volunteered to be involved.

  One sticking point about the concept of a pump track is that many, if not most, of the Sonoma BMXers are into freestyle riding, a sport that is most often practiced on wooden or concrete ramps. The only freestyle facility in Sonoma County, Ramp Rats BMX Park, is in Santa Rosa.

  Another concern, voiced by the mother of a devoted skateboarder who visits the park frequently, is that drugs have begun to proliferate at the skate park. “Most of the skaters are great,” said the woman who would not give her name, “but there are a few who are really hard. I’ve seen sixth graders there smoking pot. That’s really alarming.”

  Thompson said he arrived early to the meeting and stopped by the skate park, where he found “seven kids sitting there smoking marijuana.”

  Getting the BMX park plan moving will require formation of a committee, said John Mills, a commissioner on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Mills said that as soon as a committee can bring forth a well-organized, detail-specific plan, complete with budget and funding sources, his group will promote it.

  But he warned, “There is zero money in anybody’s budget to do any of this. This project most likely could never be funded by the County of Sonoma. So get a plan and money together and we’ll put you on the agenda.”

  Brandon Bredo, a ranger with Sonoma County Regional Parks, said he had already conferred with park planning and management about the berm removal. “There’s nothing keeping us from doing it,” he said, “especially with a public commitment.”

  Bredo added that the project “comes at a really good time, because every year we focus on one of the 49 parks with new signage and vegetation.” This year, said Bredo, Maxwell Farms is the targeted park.

  Anyone interested in helping with the skate park and BMX track improvements, can contact Bredo at 565-2041, Milenka Bates at 933-2230 or Rob Wilson at 938-5500.