By Katrina Van DuzeeGarden Grove Journal
Before last winter it was illegal to hop on a skateboard in Garden Grove parks, but at Tuesday’s city council meeting the city took another active step towards supporting the popular extreme sport.
The Garden Grove City Council voted 5-0 to triple the size of the planned West Haven skate spot and double the amount of money allocated for the project.
Last November the city council voted to change the municipal code allowing skateboarding in city parks and on Dec. 11, the first of two planned skate spots opened in Garden Grove Park. The popularity of the first skate zone sparked community requests to increase the size and add components to the West Haven design, according to a staff report.
The plan is to increase the size of the skate spot from 988 square feet to 3,010 square feet, which will increase the cost of the project by $33,695. The staff report states funding for the project will come from Park Development funds.
The city council has showed overwhelming support for the construction of skate spots within the city. Councilmember Dina Nguyen asked the city to look and possibility of building a designated skating zone in 2007 and Mayor Bill Dalton expressed his support at the 2011 “State of the City” address, saying how much fun it was to have these parks available for Garden Grove’s youth.
The projects are called skate spots, because they are smaller than skate parks and are built in existing city parks. The two parks are located at Garden Grove Park on 13641 Deodara Dr. and West Haven Park 12250 West St.
Not only is the size of the West Haven spot increasing, but the amended agreement between American Ramp Company and the city also includes the construction of additional pre-cast ramps. The total cost to build both skate parks is now at $109,575.
Other news of things to come to the city of Garden Grove includes The Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located in Washington, DC.
The 253-foot-long aluminum wall lists the 58,268 people who were killed during the Vietnam War and will be available for viewing Oct. 6-8.
