Shame on the bureaucrats of the City of Rochester. I've been involved in the park effort since the beginning, and when we started EVERY city official agreed with us, that this was an idea whose time had arrived, and we were all very pleased with the response we got and the people we met with. The park moved steadily along for the next few years, to the point where the rubber was about to hit the road. Then some of out biggest advocates in the city were moved or lost their jobs, the park location was moved, and we were basically told all our efforts would need to be duplicated again to "prove" there's a demand for this project.
Recently enthusiasts of these sports took it upon themselves to build just a couple small obstacles at Ford St. bridge, and instantly people flocked there. Within a week parents were bringing their kids, and everyone was really enjoying themselves. You could even feel a sense of community forming. The city tore it up a week later. Shameful.
The solution, for the time being, is for the city to at least give us a place to build what we want ourselves, while they work on joining the rest of the country (and world) in accepting our sports and giving them a safe and fun place to participate in them.
Re: “Skatepark advocate losing hope”
Shame on the bureaucrats of the City of Rochester. I've been involved in the park effort since the beginning, and when we started EVERY city official agreed with us, that this was an idea whose time had arrived, and we were all very pleased with the response we got and the people we met with. The park moved steadily along for the next few years, to the point where the rubber was about to hit the road. Then some of out biggest advocates in the city were moved or lost their jobs, the park location was moved, and we were basically told all our efforts would need to be duplicated again to "prove" there's a demand for this project.
Recently enthusiasts of these sports took it upon themselves to build just a couple small obstacles at Ford St. bridge, and instantly people flocked there. Within a week parents were bringing their kids, and everyone was really enjoying themselves. You could even feel a sense of community forming. The city tore it up a week later. Shameful.
The solution, for the time being, is for the city to at least give us a place to build what we want ourselves, while they work on joining the rest of the country (and world) in accepting our sports and giving them a safe and fun place to participate in them.