Several towns in central New Jersey provide skate parks for people of all ages to enjoy riding their skateboards, an activity that some describe as cathartic and a break from school or work. FILE PHOTO Skate parks have proved to be a haven for freewheeling expression and even reflection in some local communities.
“For me, I just jump on my board and cruise. I throw on whatever music I am in the mood for that day, and I just get lost in thought skating around,” Keansburg skater Dave Collins said. “I clear my mind skating. I love the feeling of just pushing the board around.”
For some, like Meaghan Cross of Middletown, skating is a hobby that never died. “Skating is a way to get myself back into action, to get myself out there doing something. It was fun when I was 16 years old and it is still fun at 24,” she said.
“When I fall off the board now, it will probably hurt for longer than it used to. But it is a nice break from school, work and bills, and it is a much more rewarding activity than going to the gym.”
A BMX biker gets some air time at a local skate park. FILE PHOTO With such enthusiasm comes the need for places to skate — a problem resolved by some towns in the form of skate parks of varying styles and difficulty.
Atlantic Highlands built its skate park in 2008 with local and state funds. Borough Administrator Adam Hubeny said the facility is used every day until it closes, and the town has had no problems reported there.
“It has been a great success. We have given the kids a place to go and gather and skate and enjoy themselves,” he said, adding that the children do need to be reminded at times to wear helmets and follow the rules. “But we have the police and harbor security keeping an eye out to enforce the rules and regulations.”
The park on First Avenue has three ramps, a grind bar and plenty of open space.
While Atlantic Highlands officials are expected to consider the facility’s expansion in the future, Edison already has plans to improve its skate park.
“It is an excellent place for kids to go to — one of busiest parks in our town,” Edison Recreation Director Denise Halliwell-De- Santis said. “It is open from 8 a.m. to dusk, and it is constantly packed. We are having it completely renovated with new equipment, probably in the fall. We are happy to see it done.”
The park was built in the municipal complex in 2001 with local funds and has largely been a problem-free location, she said.
In Woodbridge, an initial skate park saw so much success over the course of the past decade that township officials invested in a second, more challenging facility for skaters.
The original Woodbridge Township Skate Park, off Rahway Avenue, saw some damage and graffiti early on, but “was never a disruptive force in the town,” township spokesman John Hagerty said. Its success led to the construction of the indoor Evergreen Skate Park in the Colonia section.
“[Evergreen] was developed into a wellrun, well-managed and self-policed park, all done by the skaters themselves. It has been a tremendous success,” Hagerty said.
Having two parks in town means that skaters have somewhere to practice instead of using streets, parking lots and other public places, he said.
Despite their success in some towns, skate parks are not always a feasible endeavor.
Middletown opened a skate park in the Port Monmouth section in 2006, but shut it down four years later.
“It was an open park, but we had a lot of problems with kids bringing bikes into it,” Business Administrator Anthony Mercantante said. “What happened was, people came in with bikes and damaged the equipment. Unless you had someone sitting there monitoring it, you couldn’t stop them. Then there were complaints about bikers bullying skaters, and we ended up having a staff person monitor the park,” he said.
Facing budget constraints, the township closed the park in 2010.
“It just became ineffective. There were still a lot of police calls and bad behavior, so we closed the park,” Mercantante said.
There is still hope for a future skate park in Middletown, he said.
“Never say never. We talked about finding a location that has a little more visibility to it. It is nothing we have an immediate plan for, because it left a bad taste in the committee’s mouth, but it is not completely off the table,” he said.
Local skate parks are insured by each town’s joint insurance fund.
“It is the concern of the fund that the skate park is built or installed to meet the appropriate safety guidelines to minimize liability,” said David Grubb, executive director of the Monmouth County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund.
The policies vary, but each town is responsible for up to 20 percent of any damages or lawsuits, he said.
“Every joint insurance fund does this, but a little bit differently,” Grubb said.
While Hubeny said the insurance premium for Atlantic Highlands’ facility is “very minimal,” Matawan Borough Administrator Louis Ferrara said the premium is one of the reasons his town has no skate park.
“There is a reason we have said no up to now, and that is because we need the space for it, we need the money, and we would have to be willing to accept the insurance liability,” he said, noting that the borough would have to pay about $20,000 per injury or incident at the park.
The Monmouth County Park System owns and maintains a skate park on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch.
“The park was built back in 2004 by a planner who saw the need for it there, and we just happened to own the property at the time. We are looking to upgrade the park to a bigger skate plaza design [which incorporates more urban elements and fewer ramps] soon,” said Karen Livingstone, public information officer for the parks system.
To its athletes, skating is a beloved sport. Sayreville-based skater John Lewinski described it as cathartic, and a huge part of his life.
“Skating is a way to get out there and express myself. I get to be free,” he said.
“It is one of those things where you get to push the limits of things you cannot normally do, and you get to get out there and take your mind off a lot of things. It’s like a therapy. It’s hard to explain, but what skating means to me is that it is my life.”