Skateboard Park Slip Sliding Away

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Last week was a busy time for the Janesville Gazette as the newspaper actively attempted to shape public opinion on several different local issues. One of them, the editor’s outburst against Mercy Hospital’s guarded position handling their job and service cuts was discussed here. Another is the the skatepark location debate in which the newspaper is also priming up public support for their position.

From the comments made by the skateboard fundraising couple, Fern and Roger S. (FRS), it became apparent they were walking into a trap partly of their own making. The couple (FRS), raised nearly $22,000 in seed-money donations for a skateboard facility to be built in Palmer Park. The Janesville City Council approved of the Palmer Park site in 2005, but because of the poor local economic forecast, they (council and city administration) now have hinted that city money won’t be there unless they choose a different location in a low-income targeted (Federal funding) area. This is when the game playing began.

The couple (FRS) spoke out against moving the park to a different location outside of Palmer, to the Jackson/Delavan St. area, an area neglected by city planners for the past 90 years and adjacent to the NE corner of the GM plant.

Unfortunately their choice of words were not carefully considered when they offered their reasons to keep the skatepark at Palmer. Among them was the notion that Palmer is “family-oriented and close to the interstate” implied their plan is not primarily for the children of Janesville and a different location might not be as family-oriented as they would like. Afterward, the Gazette (Aug. 2) ran an editorial titled “Don’t dismiss Jackson Street skatepark idea” where they gave their reasons to move the facility away from Palmer. Among them…..

JG Editorial Excerpt:
It could be argued that the Jackson Street site is more centrally located and is nearer more low-income families whose children would relish the chance to do skateboarding and bicycling tricks at the facility.

A-hem. And what exactly do the middle-class and upper-crust kids relish? Will low-income children relish it at Palmer any less? And when park plans came up for a wading pool, volleyball court or playgrounds at Palmer, did anyone suggest putting them into the Jackson St. area because of their a-hem, central location? What must be understood here is that the Gazette and their supporters view a skateboard park as a nuisance facility, not a privileged activity for “family,” and this matters because that’s driving their opposition to the couple and their argument to move the facility. That and “no money” conservatism.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Many nearby residents never wanted the skatepark to further congest beautiful Palmer Park, and dog owners don’t want the facility to squeeze their pet exercise area.

Despite that the Palmer location was previously approved, the newspaper pits the neighbors and dog owners from out of nowhere against the FRS couple. Palmer Park is a wonderful asset to Janesville and a top attraction, but to imply a skatepark would “congest” it was obviously a code word used in place of what they really meant.

On Thursday, the Gazette published a rebuttal by FRS to the newspaper's Jackson St. skatepark position titled ‘Skatepark must be in safe part of city” which hit the mark about their safety concerns for the kids, a concern of no less importance than the concern for safety justifying the controversial bike tunnel. But the article also contained this little tidbit.

JG Excerpt:
Locating the skatepark in the area near the batting cages might only be a temporary situation. Reputable sources state the batting cages will be moved to a different location.

A-hem. To a more “family-oriented” location I suppose? Like to the Youth Sports Complex where the city plans to spend $1.3 million despite the slowing economy and tough budget decisions? This gets ugly real fast.

To suggest that a skatepark can help turn the Jackson/Delavan area around is disingenuous in the least. I could be wrong, but this neglected area in Janesville deserves much more thought and grander ideas than a skateboard park, and it’s nearby residents deserve to be heard regardless of their economic class from the start to the finish - and that includes any attempts by the city to remove the batting cages.

Outside of the safety concerns, the reasons the FRS couple use to defend the Palmer site are just as wrong (in my opinion) as the Gazette's reasons to put it on Jackson Street. They both emanate from a brand of class and culture warfare that can only guarantee further segregation and polarize the community. The City of Janesville deserves better.

Note: Rebuttal/Editorial Weblinks not available. As a courtesy to the fund raising couple, only their initials were used to avoid search engine robots.