Hi I'm Mike, I'm a new comer to this group. At age 26 I've been skateboarding
for about 14 years now and live in Plymouth. So when I hear of any new skate
park going up I think that's awesome. However, one must take into consideration
that if a skate park is to be built out doors in Michigan, it is probably only
useful for about 3 or 4 months out of the entire year and only when it's not
raining, too hot, or too cold. (Considering about May through the end of August)

Surely right now its summer and Riley skate park just opened but if we look at
the surrounding cities in this area, there are a few skate parks but almost none
of them are indoor skate parks. Almost all of the indoor skate spots around this
area have closed down or moved away. With a good indoor skate park one can
skateboard all year long any day of the week and that wouldn't depend on the
weather.

Also skateboard ramps made from concrete have more disadvantages then other
types like wood, skatelite, metal and others. Many people may not realize this
but when you fall on to a concrete ramp you actually hit the surface harder then
you would a wood ramp. This is because when you fall on a wood ramp, that ramp
will actually absorb some of the impact.
Now I usually wear all my pads, but in skateboarding one can never be totally
exempt from injury. If you fall on concrete and your skin hits the surface your
skin is likely to be removed and you'll be bleeding. If you fall on a wood ramp
you can get your skin removed but you're more likely to only have you're skin
burned and that is better because you may not be bleeding like you would had it
been concrete you fell on. Of course this also depends on the type of wood and
how well it was taken care of. Yes it's true you can get splinters on old wood
ramps after they've been left out in the rain, but who would neglect their ramps
to where they have such poor shape?

(There are also some tricks and landing of tricks that can be done on
non-concrete ramps like wood that pretty much couldn't be done on concrete
because concrete does not allow any minor bit of slipping or sliding wheels
sideways. But I'm sure some people may debit that point)

Another potential problem with concrete poured here in Michigan is that it is
susceptible to cracking and heaving during the freeze-and-thaw cycles. What
happens when you have a skate park with a concrete slab that doesn't fully
settle back down after a thaw cycle? You have two concrete surfaces at different
levels and an accident waiting to happen!

To tell the truth I'd rather pay a few bucks to get into a skate park then go to
a free skate park that has never had any maintenance since it first open. Most
free skate parks only put money into the park once ever, and then it just
deteriorates from there on.
(These last 2 things I mentioned is exactly what has happened at Belleville's
skate park. Which is currently one of the worst parks in my opinion)

I want to sign the petition for a new skate park. Ann Arbor is a great place.
But I'd like to have some place to skate in the winter! So I can't say that I
fully support 100% a free concrete skate park. What can we do here? Could part
of it be Indoor?