Costa Mesa greenlights small skate parks in city

Skaters, rejoice: Costa Mesa City Council members decided to move forward with creating small-scale skate parks throughout the city during their Tuesday night meeting.

The council will tentatively examine locations in Pinkley, Vista, Estancia and Shiffer parks as locations for the proposed facilities. The locations were selected from a list of sites proposed by city staff.

The council decided to examine the possibility of installing multiple parks throughout the city after voting against a plan to install a larger facility at Lion’s Park last year.

Jim Gray, the president of ABC Board Supply, said he was pleased with the decision, but wouldn’t celebrate until the construction was complete.

“We walked out of there happy; it’s moving forward,” he said. “They approved moving forward to look at some park sites and do some preliminary sketches, but that’s when the heat of the battle really happens.”

Gray said he was also pleased the council seemed to endorse the use of concrete ramps instead of their portable counterparts, which he believes can be louder and more dangerous for skaters.

— Chris Caesar