I get questions weekly from people all over the world asking how they can handle problems they are experiencing with regard to skate parks in their own communities. I am in a pretty unique position to offer some advice in this area. For those of you who don’t know me, I built Freedom Skate/BMX Park, a free skate park in Upstate NY in 2007. In order to get the project from idea to reality, I had to do a lot of things from planning the project, spearheading all the fundraising, running for elected office and finally, running the park. In the time since Freedom has been open, I have had the privilege of donating my time consulting with many communities across the US about specific problems they are experiencing.
Here are a few of the most common questions I get:
“My town used to have a park a few years ago but they shut it down. What can we do to get it back open?”