Jackson Township community unites to rebuild skate park

The Jackson Township skateboard and bike park was recently vandalized to the point where it was deemed unsafe by Township officials.    Leading the charge to rebuild the park is Jackson Councilman Mike Kafton who is currently assembling a team and creating a plan to raise funds to rebuild what has been taken from the kids of Jackson Township.

Unfortunately, when a skatepark closes, skaters do not stop skating.   Before the park was built skaters could be found behind shopping centers, in township parking lots and generally in places where landowners and business people do not want them.   In turn, this creates a bad an unecessary scenario for the kids who have been thrown back into the streets.   They are now at risk to potentially being charged with such things as tresspassing, loitering and vandalism for enjoying the sport they love on private property.

It’s important that the community supports skateboarding  just as we support soccer, baseball, football and lacrosse.   Many community members have jumped on board offering many forms of support to help get these kids back in a safe and fun park.

Recently, I had put Mr. Kafton in contact with another former professional skateboarder and High School friend, Derek Rinaldi.  Derek, the former owner of Jackson’s  Brookwood Lounge and former pro skater sponsored by Oakley, Billabong, Gordon and Smith and Zoo York has offered his support on the rebuilding project along with other pros recruited by Mr. Kafton.

Derek brings some unique perspectives to the table and I hope will be involved in the process.   Hovering around the 40 year old mark, Derek brings to the table a unique mix of both catering to skater’s needs with the responsibility of being both a former professional and now a responsible dad who wants to see a park that can also be enjoyed by a new breed of skateboarders.   The skateboard family.    Just as we have baseball, football and soccer families, you might not realize the amount of skateboard families with two generations of skaters!

This week Derek, passed along a great document written by Rob Drydek and the Skate Plaza Foundation,  concerning economical and skater friendly skate park plazas as an alternative to expensive high-end park designs.  You can visit the foundation’s website here: http://www.skateplaza.com/.     The Rob Dyrdek Skate Plaza Foundation seeks to promote skateboarding by assisting municipalities or non profits with the design, development, and construction of Skate Plazas that maintain the integrity of terrain occurring naturally in urban environments and where the sport of skateboarding in its purest form is encouraged rather than discouraged.

You can download the PDF here: http://www.skateplaza.com/media/pdfs/skate_plazabrochure.pdf

While the skate plaza idea may not be what Jackson is looking for 100% since we need to achieve a multi-purpose balance it is very educational for politicians, taxpayers, skaters and anyone interested in helping to rebuild this park for the kids.

In the photo below you can see evidence of the current vandalism and grafitti that plagues the park.