Fence Cuts Skate Park Use in Half

Attendance at the city’s only skate park, in Encino, has dropped about 50% since the construction of a 10-foot security fence allowed officials to begin enforcing a city requirement that skateboarders wear protective gear.

Kevin Regan, superintendent of operations for the Valley region of the Department of Recreation and Parks, said he is not concerned about the drop in park usage.

“It’s become a benefit for those using the facility,” he said. “People who don’t want to follow the rules are going to go somewhere else.”

Pedlow Field Skate Park, which opened in February, was drawing several hundred skaters a week, but many refused to wear the required helmets, knee and elbow pads, despite requests from park rangers.

Two weeks ago, the security fence was completed, with a single entry that allows rangers to monitor skaters’ safety gear.

Instead of 50 to 60 skaters using the bowl on a typical Saturday or Sunday, attendance is down to 20 to 30, according to Regan.

One skater said the changes made the facility “like a jail.”

But Regan said, “In my opinion, . . . it’s being used safely and the people who come are enjoying the facility.”

City officials are monitoring the 8,500-square-foot concrete park because Mayor Richard Riordan has proposed in his latest budget to spend $1 million to build three new skateboard parks.